STORY  OF  A  DOCTORS 
TELEPHONE 


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THE  STORY  OF  A  DOCTOR'S 

TELEPHONE — TOLD 

BY  HIS  WIFE 


BY 

ELLEN    M.    FIREBAUGH 

Author  of  "THE  PHYSICIAN'S  WIFI" 


BOSTON,  MASS.: 
THE    ROXBURGH   PUBLISHING  COMPANY 

(INCORPORATED) 


Copyrighted,  1912 
BY  ELLEN  M.  FIREBAUGH 

All  rights  reserved 


TO  MY  HUSBAND 


2135739 


TO  THE  READER. 

The  telephone  has  revolutionized  the  doctor's 
life. 

In  the  old  days  when  a  horse's  galloping  hoofs 
were  heard  people  looked  out  of  their  windows 
and  wondered  if  that  wasn't  someone  after  a 
doctor !  The  steed  that  Franklin  harnessed  bears 
the  message  now,  and  comments  and  curiosity 
are  stilled.  In  the  old  days  thunderous  knocks 
came  often  to  the  doctor's  door  at  night ;  they  are 
never  heard  now,  or  so  rarely  as  to  need  no  men- 
tion. Neighbors  have  been  awakened  by  these 
importunate  raps :  they  sleep  on  undisturbed  now. 

The  doctor's  household  enjoys  nothing  of  this 
sweet  immunity.  A  disturbing  factor  is  within 
it  that  makes  the  thunderous  knocks  of  old  pale 
into  insignificance. 

When  the  telephone  first  came  into  the  town 
where  our  doctor  lived  he  had  one  put  in  his 
office  of  course,  for  if  anyone  in  the  world  needs 
a  'phone  it  is  the  doctor  and  the  people  who  want 
him.  By  and  by  he  bethought  him  that  since  his 
office  was  several  blocks  from  his  residence  he 
had  better  put  one  in  there,  too,  because  of  calls 
that  come  in  the  night.  So  it  was  promptly  in- 
stalled. The  doctor  and  "his  wife  found  their  sleep 
disturbed  far  oftener  than  before.  People  will 


6  THE  STORY  OF  A 

not  dress  and  go  out  into  the  night  to  the  doctor's 
house  unless  it  is  necessary.  But  it  is  an  easy 
thing  to  step  to  the  'phone  and  call  him  from  his 
sleep  to  answer  questions  —  often  needless  — 
and  when  several  people  do  the  same  thing  in 
the  same  night,  as  frequently  happens,  it  is  not 
hard  to  see  what  the  effect  may  be. 

One  day  the  doctor  had  an  idea!  He  would 
connect  the  two  'phones.  It  would  be  a  handy 
thing  for  Mary  to  be  able  to  talk  to  him  about 
the  numberless  little  things  that  come  up  in  a 
household  without  the  trouble  of  ringing  cen- 
tral every  time,  and  it  would  be  a  handy  thing 
for  him,  too.  When  he  had  to  leave  the  office 
he  could  just  'phone  Mary  and  she  could  keep 
an  ear  on  the  'phone  till  he  got  back. 

About  this  time  another  telephone  system  was 
established  in  the  town  —  the  Farmers'.  Now 
a  doctor's  clientele  includes  many  farmers,  so  he 
put  one  of  the  new  'phones  into  his  office.  By 
and  by  he  reflected  that  farmers  are  apt  to  need 
to  consult  a  physician  at  night — he  must  put 
in  a  Farmers'  'phone  at  home,  too.  And  he  did. 
Then  he  connected  it  with  the  office. 

When  the  first  'phone  went  up  Mary  soon  ac- 
customed herself  to  its  call  —  three  rings.  When 
her  husband  connected  it  with  the  office  the  rings 
were  multiplied  by  three.  One  ring  meant  some- 
one at  the  office  calling  central.  Two  rings  meant 
someone  calling  the  office.  Three  rings  meant 
someone  calling  the  residence,  as  before.  Mary 


DOCTOR'S  TELEPHONE  7 

found  the  three  calls  confusing.  When  the 
Farmers'  'phone  was  installed  and  the  same  or- 
der of  rings  set  up,  she  found  the  original  ring 
multiplied  by  six.  This  was  confusion  worse 
confounded.  To  be  sure  the  bell  on  the  Farmers' 
had  a  somewhat  hoarser  sound  than  that  on  the 
Citizens'  'phone,  but  Mary's  ear  was  the  only 
one  in  the  household  that  could  tell  the  difference 
with  certainty.  The  clock  in  the  same  room 
struck  the  half  hours  which  did  not  tend  to  sim- 
plify matters.  When  a  new  door-bell  was  put 
on  the  front  door  Mary  found  she  had  eight  dif- 
ferent rings  to  contend  with.  But  it  is  the  bells 
of  the  Telephone  with  which  we  are  concerned 
and  something  of  their  story  will  unfold  as  we 
proceed. 

When  the  doctor  was  at  home  and  the  'phone 
would  ring  he  would  start  toward  the  adjoining 
room  where  the  two  hung  and  stop  at  the  first. 

Mary  would  call  "Farmers'!"  and  he  would 
move  on  to  the  next.  Perhaps  at  the  same  in- 
stant the  tall  boy  of  the  household  whose  ear  was 
no  more  accurate  than  that  of  his  father  would 
shout  "Citizens'!"  and  the  doctor  would  stop 
between  the  two. 

"Farmers' !"  the  wife  would  call  a  second  time, 
with  accrued  emphasis.  Then  she  would  laugh 
heartily  and  declare: 

"Any  one  coming  in  might  think  this  a  sort 
of  forum  where  orations  were  being  delivered," 
and  sometimes  she  would  go  on  and  declaim : 


8  THE  STORY  OF  A 

"Friends,  Romans,  countrymen,  lend  me  your 
ears  —  amy  husband  has  borrowed  mine." 

So  the  telephone  in  the  doctor's  house  — so 
great  a  necessity  that  we  cannot  conceive  of  life 
without  it,  so  great  a  blessing  that  we  are  hourly 
grateful  for  it,  is  yet  a  very  great  tyrant  whose 
dominion  is  absolute. 

I  had  a  pleasing  picture  in  my  mind  in  the 
writing  of  this  chronicle,  of  sitting  serene  and  un- 
disturbed in  a  cosy  den  upstairs,  with  all  the 
doors  between  me  and  the  'phone  shut  tight 
where  no  sound  might  intrude.  In  vain.  With- 
out climbing  to  the  attic  I  could  not  get  so  far 
away  that  the  tintinnabulation  that  so  mercilessly 
wells  from  those  bells,  bells,  bells  did  not 
penetrate. 

I  hope  my  readers  have  not  got  so  far  away 
from  their  Poe  as  to  imagine  that  ringing  sen- 
tence to  be  mine.  And  I  wonder  if  a  still  greater 
glory  might  not  crown  his  brow  if  there  had 
been  telephone  bells  to  celebrate  in  Poe's  day. 

So  I  gave  up  the  pleasant  dream,  abandoned 
the  cosy  den  and  came  down  stairs  to  the  dining 
room  where  I  can  scatter  my  manuscript  about 
on  the  big  table,  and  look  the  tyrants  in  the  face 
and  answer  the  queries  that  arise,  and  can  sand- 
wich in  a  good  many  little  odd  jobs  besides. 

Through  a  doctor's  telephone  how  many 
glimpses  of  human  nature  and  how  many  peeps 
into  the  great  Story  of  Life  have  been  mine ;  and 
if,  while  the  reader  is  peeping  too,  the  scene  sud- 


DOCTOR'S  TELEPHONE  9 

denly  closes,  why  that  is  the  way  of  telephones 
and  not  the  fault  of  the  writer. 

And  knowing  how  restful  a  thing  it  has  been 
to  me  to  get  away  from  the  ringing  of  the  bell 
at  times,  I  have  devised  a  rest  for  the  reader  also 
and  have  sent  him  with  the  doctor  and  his  wife 
on  an  occasional  country  drive  where  no  tele- 
phone intrudes. 

E.  M.  F. 
Robinson,   111. 


The  Story  of  a  Doctor's  Telephone 

CHAPTER  I. 

The  hands  of  the  clock  were  climbing  around 
toward  eleven  and  the  doctor  had  not  returned. 
Mary,  a  drowsiness  beginning  to  steal  over  her, 
looked  up  with  a  yawn.  Then  she  fell  into  a  so- 
liloquy ; 


To  bed,  or  not  to  bed  —  that  is  the  question: 
Whether  'tis  wiser  in  the  wife  to  wait  for  a  belated 

spouse, 

Or  to  wrap  the  drapery  of  her  couch  about  her 
And  lie  down  to  pleasant  dreams? 
To  dream!  perchance  to  sleep! 
And  by  that  sleep  to  end  the  headache 
And  the  thousand  other  ills  that  flesh  is  heir  to? 
The  restoration  of  a  wilted  frame, — 
Wilted  by  loss  of  sleep  on  previous  nights  — 
A  consummation  devoutly  to  be  wished. 
To  dream!  perchance  to  sleep! — aye,  there's  the  rub; 
For  in  that  somnolence  what  peals  may  come 
Must  give  her  pause.    There  is  the  telephone 
That  makes  calamity  of  her  repose. 
Her  spouse  may  not  have  come  to  answer  it, 
Which  means  that  she,  his  wife,  must  issue  forth 
All  dazed  and  breathless  from  delicious  sleep, 
And  knock  her  knees  on  intervening  chairs, 
And  bump  her  head  on  a  half  open  door, 
And  get  there  finally  all  out  of  breath, 
And  take  the  receiver  down  and  say:  "Hello?" 


I2  THE  STORY  OF  A 

The  old,  old  question:  "Is  the  doctor  there?" 

Comes  clearly  now  to  her  awakened  ear. 

Then,  tentatively,  she  must  make  reply: 

"The  doctor  was  called  out  an  hour  ago, 

But  I  expect  him  now  at  any  time." 

Good  patrons  should  be  held  and  not  escape 

To  other  doctors  that  may  lie  in  wait; 

For  in  this  voice  so  brusque  and   straight  and   clear 

She  recognizes  an  old  friend  and  true, 

Whose  purse  is  ever  ready  to  make  good, 

And  she  hath  need  of  many,  many  things. 

But  then,  again,  the  message  of  the  'phone 

May  be  that  of  some  stricken   little  child 

Whose  mother's  voice  trembles  with  love  and  fear. 

Then  must  the  listener  earnestly  advise: 

"Don't  wait  for  him!     Get  someone  else  to-night." 

Perchance  again  the  message  may  be  that 

Of  colics  dire  and  death  so  imminent 

That  she  who  listens,  tho'  with  'customed  ear, 

Shrinks  back  dismayed  and  knows  not  what  to   say, 

Lacking  the  knowledge  and  profanity 

Of  him  who,  were  he  there,  would  settle  quick 

This  much  ado  about  much  nothingness. 

And  so  these  anticipatory  peals 

Reverberate  through  fancy  as  she  sits, 

And  make  her  rather  choose  to  bear  the  ills 

She  has  than  fly  to  others  she  may  meet ; 

To  wait  a  little  longer  for  her  spouse, 

That,  when  at  last  she  does  retire  to  rest, 

She  may  be  somewhat  surer  of  her  sleep. 

And  so  she  sits  there  waiting  for  the  step 

And  the  accompanying  clearing  of  the  throat 

Which  she  would  know  were  she  in  Zanzibar. 

And  by-and-by  he  comes  and  fate  is  kind 

And  lets  them  slumber  till  the  early  dawn. 


DOCTOR'S  TELEPHONE  13 


CHAPTER  II. 

Ten  P.  M.  The  'phone  is  ringing  and  the 
sleepy  doctor  gets  out  of  bed  and  goes  to  an- 
swer it. 

"Hello." 

No  response. 

"Hello!" 

Silence. 

"Hello!!" 

"Is  this  Doctor  Blank?" 

"Yes." 

"I  want  you  to  come  out  to  my  house  —  my 
wife's  sick." 

"Who  is  it?" 

"Jim  Warner.    Come  just  as — " 

A  click  in  the  receiver. 

The  doctor  waits  a  minute.  Then  he  says 
"Hello."  No  answer.  He  waits  another  minute. 
"Hell-oil" 

Silence.  "Damn  that  girl  —  she's  cut  us  off." 
He  hangs  up  the  receiver  and  rings  the  bell 
sharply.  He  takes  it  down  and  hears  a 
voice  say  leisurely,  "D'ye  get  them?" 

"Yes !     What  in  h-11  did  you  cut  us  off  for  ?" 

"Wait  a  minute  —  I'll  ring  'em  again,"  says 
the  voice,  hasty  and  obliging,  so  potent  a  thing  is 
a  man's  unveiled  wrath.  She  rings  'em  again. 


I4  THE  STORY  OF  A 

Soon  the  same  voice  says,  "Are  you  there  yet, 
Doctor?" 

"Yes,  now  what  is  it !" 

The  voice  proceeds  and  the  doctor  listens  put- 
ting in  an  occasional  "Yes"  or  "No."  Then  he 
says,  "All  right  —  I'll  be  out  there  in  a  little  bit." 
He  hangs  up  the  receiver  and  his  wife  falls 
asleep  again.  The  doctor  dresses  and  goes  out. 
The  house  is  in  darkness.  All  is  still.  In  about 
five  minutes  Mary  is  suddenly,  sharply  awake. 
A  slight  noise  in  the  adjoining  room!  She  lis- 
tens with  accelerated  heart-beats.  The  doctor 
has  failed  to  put  on  the  night  latch.  Some  thief 
has  been  lying  in  wait  watching  for  his  oppor- 
tunity, and  now  he  has  entered.  What  can  she 
do.  Muffled  footsteps!  she  pulls  the  sheet  over 
her  head,  her  heart  beating  to  suffocation.  The 
footsteps  grope  their  way  toward  her  room! 
Great  Heaven!  A  hand  fumbles  at  the  door 
knob.  She  shrieks  aloud. 

"What  on  earth  is  the  matter!" 

O,  brusque  and  blessed  is  that  voice! 

"John,  you  have  nearly  scared  me  to  death," 
she  says,  sitting  up  in  bed,  half  laughing  and 
half  crying.  "But  I  heard  you  tell  that  man  you 
were  coming  out  there." 

"Yes.    I  told  him  I  was." 

"Well,  why  didn't  you  go?" 

"I  did  go." 

"You  don't  mean  to  tell  me  you  have  been  a 
mile  and  back  in  five  minutes." 


DOCTOR'S  TELEPHONE  15 

The  doctor  flashed  on  the  light  and  looked  at 
his  watch,  —  "Just  an  hour  since  I  left  home," 
he  said.  Mary  gasped.  "Well,  it  only  proves 
how  soundly  I  can  sleep  when  I  get  a  chance," 
she  said. 


Ting-a-ling-1  ing-ling.    Ting-a-ling-ling-ling. 

It  is  the  office  ring  but  Mary  hurries  at  once 
to  answer  it. 

"Is  this  Dr.  Blank's  office?" 

"This  is  Mrs.  Blank.  But  the  doctor  tele- 
phoned me  about  twenty  minutes  ago  that  he 
would  be  out  for  half  an  hour.  Call  him  again  in 
ten  or  fifteen  minutes  and  I  think  you  will  find 
him." 

In  about  fifteen  minutes  the  call  is  repeated. 
Mary  would  feel  better  satisfied  to  know  that  the 
doctor  received  the  message  so  she  goes  to  the 
'phone  and  listens.  Silence.  She  waits  a  min- 
ute. Shall  she  speak?  She  hesitates.  Struggle 
as  she  will  against  the  feeling,  she  can't  quite 
overcome  it- — it  seems  like  "butting  in."  But 
that  long  silence  with  the  listening  ear  at  the 
other  end  of  it  is  too  much  for  her.  Very 
pleasantly,  almost  apologetically  she  asks,  "What 
is  it?" 

"The  doctor  hasn't  come  yet?"  says  a  plainly 
disappointed  voice. 

"No — not  yet.  There  are  often  unexpected 
things  to  delay  him  —  if  you  will  give  me  your 


16  THE  STORY  OF  A 

number  or  your  name  I  will  have  him  call  you." 
"No,  I'll  just  wait  and  call  him  again."    The 
inflection  says  plainly,  "I  don't  care  to  admit  the 
doctor's  wife  into  my  confidences." 

"Very  well.  I  am  sure  it  can't  be  long  now 
till  he  returns." 

Mary  goes  back  to  her  chair  and  ponders  a 
little.  Of  what  avail  to  multiply  words.  No  use 
to  tell  the  woman  'phoning  that  she  was  willing 
to  take  the  waiting  and  the  watching,  the  seeing 
that  the  doctor  received  the  message  upon  her- 
self rather  than  that  the  other  should  be  again 
troubled  by  it.  No  use  to  let  her  gently  under- 
stand that  she  doesn't  care  for  any  confidences 
which  belong  only  to  her  husband,  but  Fate  has 
placed  her  in  a  position  where  she  has  oftentimes 
to  seem  unduly  interested.  That  these  messages 
which  are  only  occasional  with  the  one  calling 
are  constant  with  her  and  that  she  is  only  mind- 
ful of  them  when  she  must  be. 


"Watch  the  'phone."  How  thoroughly  in- 
stilled into  Mary's  consciousness  that  admonition 
was!  She  did  not  heed  the  office  ring  when  it 
came,  but  if  it  came  a  second  time  she  always 
went  to  explain  that  the  doctor  had  just  stepped 
over  to  the  drug  store  probably  and  would  be 
back  in  a  very  few  minutes.  Often,  as  she  stood 
explaining,  the  doctor  himself  would  break  into 
the  conversation,  having  been  in  another  room 


DOCTOR'S  TELEPHONE  17 

when  the  first  call  came,  and  getting  there  a 
little  tardily  for  the  second.  But  occasions  some- 
times arose  which  made  Mary  feel  very  thank- 
ful that  she  had  been  at  the  'phone.  One  winter 
morning  as  she  stood  explaining  to  some  woman 
that  the  doctor  would  be  in  in  a  few  minutes,  her 
husband's  "Hello"  was  heard. 

"There  he  is  now,"  she  said.  Usually  after 
this  announcement  she  would  hang  up  the  re- 
ceiver and  go  about  her  work.  Today  a  friendly 
interest  in  this  pleasant  voice  kept  it  in  her  hand 
a  moment.  Mary  would  not  have  admitted  idle 
curiosity,  and  perhaps  she  had  as  little  of  it  as 
falls  to  the  lot  of  women,  but  sometimes  she  lin- 
gered a  moment  for  the  message,  to  know  if  the 
doctor  was  to  be  called  away,  so  that  she  might 
make  her  plans  for  dinner  accordingly.  The 
pleasant  voice  spoke  again,  "This  is  Dr.  Blank, 
is  it?" 
"Yes." 

"We  want  you  to  come  out  to  Henry  Ogden's." 
"That's  about  five  miles  out,  isn't  it.     Whose 
sick  out  there  ?" 
"Mrs.  Ogden." 
"What's  the  matter?" 
No  reply. 

"How  long  has  she  been  sick?" 
"She  began  complaining  last  night." 
"All  right  —  I'll  be  out  some  time  today." 
"Come  right  away,  please,  if  you  can." 
This  is  an  old,  old  plea.    The  doctor  is  thor- 


i8  THE  STORY  OF  A 

oughly  inured  to  it.  He  would  have  to  be  twenty 
men  instead  of  one  to  respond  to  it  at  all  times. 
He  answers  cheerfully,  "All  right,"  and  Mary 
takes  alarm.  That  tone  means  sometime  in  the 
next  few  hours.  She  feels  sure  he  ought  to  go 
now.  Somebody  else  can  wait  better  than  this 
patient.  There  was  a  kind  of  hesitancy  in  that 
voice  that  Mary  had  heard  before.  A  woman's 
intuitions  are  much  safer  guides  than  a  man's 
slow  reasoning.  She  must  speak  to  John.  She 
rings  the  office. 

"Hello." 

"Say,  John,"  she  says  in  a  low  voice,  "I  came 
to  the  'phone  thinking  you  were  out  and  heard 
that  message.  I  think  you  ought  to  go  out  there 
right  away." 

"Well,  I'm  going  after  a  little." 

"But  I  don't  think  you  ought  to  wait.  I'm 
sure  it's  —  you  know." 

"Well,  —  maybe  I  had  better  go  right  out." 

"I  wish  you  would.  I  know  they'll  be  looking 
for  you  every  minute." 

A  few  minutes  later  Mary  saw  him  drive  past 
and  was  glad.  Half  an  hour  later  the  office  ring 
sounded.  She  did  not  wait  for  the  second  peal. 
True,  John  had  not  said,  "Watch  the  'phone," 
today,  but  that  was  understood.  Occasion- 
ally he  got  an  old  man  who  lived  next  door  to  the 
office  to  come  in  and  stay  during  his  absence. 
Possibly  he  might  have  done  so  today.  But  even 
if  he  were  there  the  telephone  and  its  ways  were 


DOCTOR'S  TELEPHONE  19 

a  dark  mystery  to  him  and  besides,  his  deafness 
made  him  of  little  use  in  that  direction. 

Mary  took  down  the  receiver  and  put  it  to 
her  ear.  A  lady's  voice  was  asking,  "Who  is 
this?" 

Mary  knew  from  her  inflection  that  she  had 
asked  something  before  and  was  not  satisfied 
with  the  reply. 

"This  is  Dr.  Blank's  office  ?"  announced  the  old 
man  in  a  sort  of  interrogative. 

Well,  where  is  the  doctor?" 

"The  doctor,"  said  the  old  man  meditatively, 
as  if  wondering  that  anybody  should  be  calling 
for  him  —  "the  doctor  —  you  mean  Dr.  Blank, 
I  reckon?" 

"I  certainly  do." 

"Good  Heavens,"  thought  Mary,  "why  don't 
he  go  on !" 

"Why,  he's  out." 

" Where  is  he?" 

"He  went  to  the  country." 

Mary  shut  her  lips  tight. 

'Well,  when  will  he  be  back?" 

"He  'lowed  he'd  be  back  in  about  an  hour 
or  so." 

"How  long  has  he  been  gone?  Maybe  I'll  get 
some  information  after  a  while." 

Mary  longed  to  speak.  Why  hadn't  she  done 
so  at  first.  If  she  thrust  herself  in  now  it  would 
make  her  out  an  eavesdropper.  But  this  was  un- 
bearable. She  opened  her  mouth  to  speak  when 
the  old  man  answered. 


20  THE  STORY  OF  A 

"He's  been  gone  over  an  hour  now,  I  reckon." 

"Then  he'll  soon  be  back.  Will  you  be  there 
when  he  comes?" 

"Yes  ma'am." 

"Then  tell  him  to  come  up  to  Mrs.  Dorian's." 

"To  Mrs.  Who's?" 

"Mrs.  Dorian's." 

"I  didn't  ketch  the  name." 

"Mrs.  Dorian's,  on  Brownson  street." 

"Mrs.  Torren's?" 

"MISS-ES  —  DOR-LAN'S!"  shouted  the 
voice. 

Mary  sighed  fiercely  and  clinched  her  teeth 
unconsciously.  "I  will  speak,"  she  thought,  when 
the  old  voice  ventured  doubtingly, 

"Mrs.  Dorian's?" 

"That's  it.  Mrs.  Dorian's  on  Brownson  street, 
will  you  remember  it?" 

"Mrs.  Dorian's,  on  Brownson  street." 

"That's  right.  Please  tell  him  just  as  soon  as 
he  comes  to  come  right  up." 

"All  right  —  I'll  tell  him." 

"Poor  old  fellow!"  said  Mary  as  she  turned 
from  the  'phone,  "but  I  don't  want  to  go  through 
any  more  ordeals  like  that.  It  was  a  good  deal 
harder  for  me  than  for  the  other  woman." 

The  doctor  came  down  late  to  dinner.  "You 
got  Mrs.  Dorian's  message  did  you?" 

"Yes,  I'll  go  up  there  right  after  dinner."    He 
looked  at  his  wife  with  peculiar  admiration. 
"How  did  you  know  what  was  wanted  with  me 
out  in  the  country?"  he  asked. 


DOCTOR'S  TELEPHONE  21 

With  a  little  pardonable  pride  she  replied :  "Oh, 
I  just  felt  it.  Women  have  ways  of  understand- 
ing each  other  that  men  never  attain  to.  Is  it 
a  boy  or  a  girl  added  to  the  world  today?" 

"Neither,"  said  the  doctor  placidly,  helping 
himself  to  a  roll. 

Chagrin  overspread  her  face.  "Well,"  she  said 
with  an  embarrassed  smile,  "I  erred  on  mercy's 
side,  and  it  might  have  happened  in  just  that 
way,  John,  and  you  know  it." 

The  doctor  laughed.  "There  was  mighty  little 
the  matter  out  there  —  they  didn't  need  a  doctor." 

"Are  they  good  pay  ?" 

"Good  as  old  wheat." 

"Then  there  are  compensations." 


Some  hours  later  when  the  'phone  rang,  Mary 
went  to  explain  that  the  doctor  had  'phoned  her 
he  would  be  out  about  twenty  minutes.  But  she 
found  no  chance  to  speak.  A  spirited  dialogue 
was  taking  place  between  a  young  man  and  a 
maid: 

"Where  are  you,  Jack?" 

"I'm  right  here." 

"Smarty !    Where  are  you !" 

"In  Dr.  Blank's  office." 

"What  are  you  there  for?" 

"I'm  waiting  for  the  doctor  and  to  while  away 
the  time  thought  I'd  call  you  up." 

Then  it  was  his  ring  that  Mary  had  answered. 


22  THE  STORY  OF  A 

"I  ought  to  hang  this  receiver  right  up,"  thought 
she,  but  instead  she  held  it,  her  face  beaming  with 
a  sympathetic  smile. 

"Are  you  feeling  better  today,  Dolly  ?" 

"Yes,  I'm  better." 

"Able  to  go  to  the  show  then,  tonight?" 

"Yes,  I'm  able  to  go." 

Here  a  thin  small  voice  put  in,  "No,  you're  not 
able!  You're  not  going." 

"Mamma  says, — "  began  a  pouting  voice. 

"I  heard  what  she  said,"  said  Jack,  laughing. 
"Have  you  been  up  all  day?" 

"Most  of  the  day." 

"Can  you  eat  anything?" 

"I  ate  an  egg,  some  toast  and  some  fruit  for 
dinner." 

"That's  fine.  I'll  bring  you  a  box  of  candy 
then  pretty  soon — I'm  coming  down  in  a  little 
bit." 

"That  will  be  lovely." 

"Which,  the  candy  or  the  coming  down  ?" 

"The  candy,  goose,  of  course."  A  laugh  at 
both  ends  of  the  wire. 

Then  Jack's  voice.  "Well,  here  comes  the 
doctor.  I've  got  to  have  my  neck  amputated  now. 
Goodbye." 

"Good-bye." 

"All's  fair  in  love  and  war,"  said  Mary,  "and 
it's  plain  to  see  what  this  is."  Then  she  hung 
up  the  receiver  without  a  qualm. 


DOCTOR'S  TELEPHONE  23 

There  were  other  times  when  the  doctor's  wife 
was  glad  she  had  gone  to  the  'phone,  as  in  this 
instance. 

She  had  taken  down  the  receiver  when  a  man's 
voice  said,  "The  doctor  just  stepped  out  for  a 
few  minutes.  If  you  will  tell  me  your  name, 
madam,  I'll  have  him  call  you  when  he  comes 
in." 

Disinterested  courtesy  spoke  in  his  voice,  but 
Mary  was  not  in  the  least  surprised  to  hear  the 
curt  reply,  "It  won't  be  necessary.  I'll  call  him 
when  he  comes." 

"I  dare  say  that  gentleman,  whoever  he  may 
be,  is  wondering  what  he  has  done,"  thought 
Mary. 

But  it  was  not  altogether  unpleasant  to  her  to 
hear  somebody  else  squelched,  too! 


There  came  a  day  when  the  doctor's  wife  re- 
belled. When  her  husband  came  home  and  ate 
his  supper  hastily  and  then  rose  to  depart,  she 
said,  "You'd  better  wait  at  home  a  few  minutes, 
John." 

"Why?"  He  put  the  question  brusquely,  his 
hat  in  his  hand. 

"Because  I  think  someone  will  ring  here  for 
you  in  a  minute  or  two.  Some  man  rang  the 
office  twice  so  I  went  to  the  'phone  to  explain  that 
you  must  be  on  your  way  to  supper  and  he  could 
find  you  here." 


24  THE  STORY  OF  A 

"Who  was  it?" 

"I  do  not  know." 

"Thunder !  Why  didn't  you  find  out  ?" 

Mary  looked  straight  at  her  husband.  "How 
many  times  have  I  told  you,  John,  that  many  peo- 
ple decline  to  give  their  names  or  their  messages 
to  any  one  but  you.  I  think  I  should  feel  that 
way  about  it  myself.  For  a  long  time  I  have 
dutifully  done  your  bidding  in  the  matter,  but 
now  I  vow  I  will  not  trample  my  pride  under 
my  feet  any  longer  —  especially  when  it  is  all  in 
vain.  I  will  watch  the  'phone  as  faithfully  as  in 
the  past,  but  I  will  not  ask  for  any  name  or  any 
message.  They  will  be  given  voluntarily  if  at 
all." 

"All  right,  Mary,"  said  the  doctor,  gently,  see- 
ing that  she  was  quite  serious. 

"I  do  not  mean  to  say  that  most  of  the  people 
who  'phone  are  grouchy  and  disagreeable  —  far 
from  it.  Indeed  the  majority  are  pleasant  and 
courteous.  But  it  is  those  who  are  not  who  have 
routed  me,  and  made  me  vow  my  vow.  Don't 
ask  me  to  break  it,  John,  for  I  will  not." 

And  having  delivered  this  declaration,  Mary 
felt  almost  as  free  and  independent  as  in  ante- 
telephone  days. 

The  doctor  had  seated  himself  and  leaning 
forward  was  swinging  his  hat  restlessly  between 
his  knees.  He  waited  five  minutes. 

"I'll  have  to  get  back  to  the  office,"  he  ex- 
claimed, starting  up.  "I'm  expecting  a  man 


DOCTOR'S  TELEPHONE  25 

to  pay  me  some  money.  Waiting  for  the 
'phone  to  ring  is  like  watching  for  the  pot  to 
boil." 

When  he  had  been  gone  a  minute  or  two,  the 
ring  came.  With  a  new  step  Mary  advanced  to 
it. 

"Has  the  doctor  got  there  yet?"  the  voice  had 
lost  none  of  its  grouch. 

"He  has.  And  he  waited  for  your  message 
which  did  not  come.  He  could  not  wait  longer. 
He  has  just  gone  to  the  office.  If  you  will  'phone 
him  there  in  two  or  three  minutes,  instead  of 
waiting  till  he  is  called  out  again,  you  will  find 
him." 

"Thank  you,  Mrs.  Blank."  The  man  was  sur- 
prised into  courtesy. 

The  clear-cut,  distinct  sentences  were  very  dif- 
ferent from  the  faltering,  apologetic  ones,  when 
she  had  asked  for  his  name  or  his  message 
twenty  minutes  before. 

Mary's  receiver  clicked  with  no  uncertain 
sound  and  a  smile  illumined  her  face. 


One  day  when  the  snow  was  flying  and  the 
wind  was  blowing  a  gale  the  doctor  came  hurry- 
ing in.  "Where  is  the  soapstone?"  he  asked, 
with  small  amenity.  His  wife  flew  to  get  it  and 
laid  it  on  the  hearth  very  close  to  the  coals.  "Oh 
dear!  How  terrible  to  go  out  in  such  a  storm. 
Do  you  have  to?"  she  asked. 


26  THE  STORY  OF  A 

"I  certainly  do.  Do  you  think  I'd  choose  a 
day  like  this  for  a  pleasure  trip?" 

"Aren't  you  glad  you  got  that  galloway  ?"  she 
asked,  hurrying  to  bring  the  big,  hairy  garment 
from  its  hook  in  the  closet.  She  helped  her  hus- 
band into  it,  turned  the  broad  collar  up  —  then, 
when  the  soapstone  was  hot,  she  wrapped  it  up 
and  gave  it  to  him.  "This  ought  to  keep  your 
feet  from  freezing,"  she  said.  The  doctor  took 
it,  hurried  out  to  the  buggy,  pulled  the  robes  up 
around  him  and  was  gone. 

"Eight  miles  in  this  blizzard !"  thought  Mary 
shivering,  "and  eight  miles  back  —  sixteen  miles. 
It  will  take  most  of  the  day." 

Two  hours  after  the  doctor  had  gone  the  tele- 
phone rang. 

"Is  Dr.  Blank  there?" 

"No,  he  is  in  the  country,  about  eight  miles 
southwest." 

"This  is  Drayton.  We  want  him  at  John 
Small's  as  soon  as  possible.  How  soon  do  you 
think  he  will  be  back  ?" 

"Not  for  several  hours,  I  am  afraid." 

"Well,  will  you  send  him  down  as  soon  as  he 
comes?  We  want  him  bad." 

Mary  assured  him  she  would  do  so.  "Poor 
John,"  she  thought  as  she  put  up  the  receiver. 

In  a  few  minutes  she  went  hurriedly  back. 
When  she  had  called  central,  she  said,  "I  am 
very  anxious  to  get  Dr.  Blank,  central.  He  is 
eight  miles  southwest  of  here  —  at  the  home  of 


DOCTOR'S  TELEPHONE  27 

Thomas  Calhoun.  Is  there  a  'phone  there?" 
Silence  for  a  few  seconds  then  a  voice,  "No,  there 
is  no  'phone  at  Thomas  Calhoun's." 

Disappointed,  Mary  stood  irresolute,  thinking. 
Then  she  asked, 

"Is  there  a  'phone  at  Mr.  William  Huntley's  ?" 

"Yes,  William  Huntley  has  a  'phone." 

"Thank  you.     Please  call  that  house  for  me." 

In  a  minute  a  man's  voice  said,  "Hello." 

"Is  this  Mr.  Huntley?" 

"Yes." 

"Mr.  Huntley,  this  is  Mrs.  Blank.  You  live 
not  far  from  Thomas  Calhoun's,  do  you  not?" 

"About  half  a  mile." 

"Dr.  Blank  is  there,  or  will  be  very  soon,  and 
there  is  an  urgent  call  for  him  to  go  on  to  Dray- 
ton.  I  want  to  save  him  the  long  drive  home 
first.  I  find  there  is  no  'phone  at  Mr.  Calhoun's 
so  I  have  called  you  hoping  you  might  be  able 
to  help  me  out.  Perhaps  someone  of  your  fam- 
ily will  be  going  down  that  way  and  will  stop  in." 

"I'll  go,  myself." 

"It's  too  bad  to  ask  any  one  to  go  out  on  a 
day  like  this  — " 

"That's  all  right,  Mrs.  Blank.  Doc's  been 
pretty  clever  to  me." 

"Tell  him,  please,  to  go  to  John  Small's  at 
Drayton.  I  am  very  deeply  obliged  to  you  for 
your  kindness,  Mr.  Huntley,"  she  said,  hanging 
the  receiver  in  its  place. 

"Eight  miles  back  home,  six  miles  from  here 


28  THE  STORY  OF  A 

to  Drayton,  six  miles  back  —  twenty  miles  in 
all.  Four  miles  from  Calhoun's  to  Drayton,  six 
miles  from  Drayton  home  —  ten  miles  saved  on 
a  blizzardy  day,"  she  thought  in  the  thankful- 
ness of  her  heart. 

A  few  minutes  later  she  was  again  at  the 
'phone.  "Please  give  me  John  Small's  at  Dray- 
ton. When  the  voice  came  she  said,  "I  wanted 
to  tell  you  that  the  doctor  will  be  there  perhaps 
in  about  an  hour  now.  I  got  your  message  to 
him  so  that  he  will  go  directly  to  your  house." 

"I'm  mighty  glad  to  know  it.  Thank  you,  Mrs. 
Blank,  for  finding  him  and  for  letting  us  know." 

A  terrible  drive  saved  and  some  anxious  hearts 
relieved.  That  dear  'phone!  How  thankful  she 
was  for  it  and  for  the  country  drives  she  had 
taken  with  her  husband  which  had  made  her  fa- 
miliar with  the  homes  and  names  of  many  farm- 
ers. Otherwise  she  could  not  have  located  her 
husband  this  morning.  One  day  like  this  cov- 
ered a  multitude  of  tyrannies  from  the  little  in- 
strument on  the  wall. 


It  was  about  half  past  seven.  The  doctor  had 
thought  it  probable  that  he  could  get  off  early 
this  evening  and  then  he  and  Mary  and  the  boys 
would  have  a  game  of  whist.  He  had  been 
called  in  consultation  to  W.,  a  little  town  in  an 
adjoining  county,  but  he  would  be  home  in  a 
little  bit  —  in  just  ten  minutes  the  train  would  be 
due. 


DOCTOR'S  TELEPHONE  29 

"O,  there  goes  that  'phone,"  said  the  small  boy 
wrathfully.  "Now,  I  s'pose  papa  can't  get 
here!" 

His  mother  was  already  there  with  the  receiver 
at  her  ear. 

"This  is  Dr.  Blank's  residence." 

"No,  but  he  will  be  here  in  fifteen  or  twenty 
minutes." 

"To  Drayton?" 

"Very  well.  I  will  give  him  your  message  as 
soon  as  he  gets  home.  I'm  afraid  that  ends  the 
game  for  tonight,  boys,"  putting  the  receiver  up. 

"Why,  does  papa  have  to  go  away?" 

"Yes,  he  has  to  drive  six  miles." 

"Gee-mi-nee — this  dark  night  in  the  mud!" 

Here  a  thought  flashed  into  Mary's  mind  — 
Drayton  was  on  the  same  railroad  on  which 
the  doctor  was  rapidly  nearing  home — the  next 
station  beyond.  She  flew  to  the  telephone  and 
rang  with  nervous  haste. 

"Hello." 

"Is  this  the  Big  Four?" 

"Yes." 

"This  is  Mrs.  Blank.  Dr.  Blank  is  on  the 
train  which  is  due  now.  He  is  wanted  at  Dray- 
ton. When  he  gets  off,  will  you  please  tell 
him?" 

"To  go  on  to  Drayton?" 

"Yes,  to  Alfred  Walton's." 

"All  right.  I'll  watch  for  him  and  see  that  he 
gets  aboard  again." 


3o  THE  STORY  OF  A 

"Thank  you  very  much." 

The  train  whistled.    "Just  in  time,"  said  Mary. 

"But  how'll  papa  get  back?"  asked  the  smaller 
boy. 

"He's  got  a  tie-ticket,"  said  his  brother. 

"Yes,  papa  would  rather  walk  back  on  the 
railroad  than  drive  both  ways  through  this  deep 
mud,"  said  their  mother.  "I  have  heard  him 
say  so." 

Another  ring. 

"Is  the  doctor  there?" 

"He  has  just  gone  on  the  train  to  Drayton." 

"How  soon  will  he  be  back?" 

"In  an  hour  and  a  half,  I  should  think." 

"Mary  heard  the  'phoner  say  in  an  aside,  "He 
won't  be  back  for  an  hour  and  a  half.  Do  you 
want  to  wait  that  long  ?" 

Another  voice  replied,  "Yes,  I'll  wait.  Tell 
'em  to  tell  him  to  come  just  as  quick  as  he  gets 
back,  though." 

This  message  was  transmitted. 

"And  where  is  he  to  go?" 

"To  Henry  Smith's,  down  by  the  Big  Four 
depot." 

A  few  minutes  later  Mary  had  another  idea. 
She  went  to  the  'phone  and  asked  central  to 
give  her  Drayton,  Mr.  Walton's  house." 

In  a  minute  a  voice  said,  "What  is  it?"  It 
was  restful  to  Mary  to  have  the  usual  opening 
varied.  Perhaps  eight  out  of  ten  began  with, 

"Hello!"       The    other    two    began,    "Yes," 


DOCTOR'S  TELEPHONE  31 

"Well,"  "What  is  it?"  and  very  rarely,  "Good 
morning,"  or  "Good  evening." 

"Is  this  the  home  of  Mr.  Walton  at  Drayton  ?" 

"Yes." 

"Dr.  Blank  is  there  just  now,  isn't  he?" 

"Yes,  but  he's  just  going  away." 

"Will  you  please  ask  him  to  come  to  the 
'phone?" 

In  a  minute  her  husband's  voice  was  heard 
asking  what  was  wanted. 

"I  want  to  save  you  a  long  walk  when  you  get 
home,  John.  You're  wanted  at  Henry  Smith's 
down  by  the  Big  Four  depot." 

"All  right.  I'll  go  in  to  see  him  when  I  get 
there.  Much  obliged." 

"A  mile  walk  saved  there,"  mused  the  doctor's 
wife,  as  she  joined  the  two  boys,  mildly  grumb- 
ling because  they  couldn't  have  their  game,  and 
never  could  have  it  just  when  they  wanted  it.  But 
a  few  chapters  from  Ivanhoe  read  to  them  by 
their  mother  made  all  serene  again. 


The  Citizens'  'phone  was  ringing  persistently. 
The  doctor's  wife  had  been  upstairs  and  could 
not  get  to  it  in  less  than  no  time!  But  she  got 
there. 

"Do  you  know  where  Dr.  Blank  is  ?"  the  words 
hurled  themselves  against  her  ear. 

"I  don't  know  just  at  this  minute  —  but  he's 
here  in  town.  I'm  sure  of  that." 


32  THE  STORY  OF  A 

"Why  don't  he  come  then !"  The  sentence 
came  as  from  a  catapult. 

"I  don't  know  anything  about  it.  Where  was 
he  to  go?" 

A  scornful  "Huh!"  came  over  the  wire  —  "I 
guess  you  forgot  to  tell  'im." 

"I  have  not  been  asked  to  tell  him  anything 
this  morning." 

There  was  heated  silence  for  an  instant,  then 
a  voice  big  with  wrath : 

"You  told  me  not  fifteen  minutes  ago  that  you 
would  send  him  right  down." 

"You  are  mistaken,"  said  Mary  gently  but 
firmly.  "This  is  the  first  time  I  have  been  at  the 
'phone  this  morning." 

"Well,  what  do  you  think  of  that !"  This  was 
addressed  to  someone  at  the  other  end  of  the 
line,  but  it  came  clearly  to  Mary's  ear  and  its 
intonation  said  volumes. 

"You're  the  very  identical  woman  that  told  me 
when  I  'phoned  awhile  ago  that  you'd  send  him 
right  down.  It's  the  very  same  voice." 

"There  is  a  mistake  somewhere,"  reiterated 
Mary,  patiently,  "but  I'll  send  the  doctor  as  soon 
as  he  gets  in  if  you  will  give  me  your  name." 

"I'll  tell  ye  agin,  then,  that  he's  to  come  to 
Lige  Thornton's." 

"Very  well.  I'll  send  him,"  and  Mary  left  the 
'phone  much  mystified.  "She  was  in  dead  earn- 
est—  and  so  was  I.  I  can't  understand  it." 
Glancing  out  of  the  window  she  saw  her  tall, 


DOCTOR'S  TELEPHONE  33 

young  daughter  coming  up  the  walk.  The  solu- 
tion came  with  lightning  quickness  —  strange 
she  didn't  think  of  that,  Gertrude  had  answered. 
She  remembered  now  that  others  had  thought 
their  voices  very  much  alike,  especially  over  the 
'phone.  "If  the  woman  had  not  talked  in  such 
a  cyclonic  way  I  would  have  thought  of  it,"  she 
reflected. 

When  the  young  girl  entered  the  room  her 
mother  said,  "Gertrude,  you  answered  the  'phone 
awhile  ago,  didn't  you  ?" 

"About  twenty  minutes  ago.  Some  woman 
was  so  anxious  for  father  to  come  right  away 
that  I  just  ran  down  to  the  office  to  see  that  he 
went" 

"That  was  very  thoughtful  of  you,  dear,  but 
it's  little  credit  we're  getting  for  it." 

She  related  the  dialogue  that  had  just  taken 
place  and  mother  and  daughter  laughed  in  sym- 
pathy. 

"Why,  Mamma,  we  couldn't  forget  if  we 
wanted  to.  That  telephone  is  an  Old  Man  of  the 
Sea  to  both  of  us  —  is  now  and  ever  shall  be, 
world  without  end." 

"But  did  you  find  your  father  at  the  office  ?" 

"Yes,  and  waited  till  he  fixed  up  some  medi- 
cine for  two  patients  already  waiting,  then  shooed 
him  out  before  some  more  came  in.  I  wanted 
to  get  it  off  my  mind." 

"I'm  glad  he  is  on  his  way.  Now  stay  within 
hearing  of  the  'phone,  dearie,  fill  I  finish  my 
work  up-stairs." 


34  THE  STORY  OF  A 

"All  right,  Mamma,  I'm  going  to  make  a  cake 
now,  but  I  can  hear  the  'phone  plainly  from  the 
kitchen." 

It  wasn't  long  till  a  ring  was  heard.  Gertrude 
dusted  the  flour  from  her  hands  and  started. 
"Which  'phone  was  it?"  she  asked  the  maid. 

"I  think  it  was  the  Farmers',"  said  Mollie,  hes- 
itating. 

So  to  the  Farmers'  'phone  went  Gertrude. 

"Hello." 

No  answer. 

"Hello." 

Silence. 

She  clapped  the  receiver  up  and  hurried  to 
the  Citizens'  'phone. 

"Hello." 

"Is  this  Dr.  Blank's?" 

"Yes." 

"Is  he  there?" 

"No,  he  was  called — "  Here  a  loud  ring  from 
the  other  'phone  sounded. 

"He  was  called  down  to — "  said  Gertrude  rap- 
idly, then  paused,  unable  to  think  of  the  name 
at  the  instant. 

"If  you  will  tell  me  where  he  went,  I'll  just 
'phone  down  there  for  him,"  said  the  voice. 

A  second  peal  from  the  other  'phone. 

"Yes,  yes!"  said  Gertrude  impatiently.  "O, 
I  didn't  mean  that  for  you,"  she  hurried  apolo- 
getically. "The  other  'phone  is  calling,  and  I'm 
so  confused  I  can't  think.  Will  you  excuse  me 
just  an  instant  till  I  see  what  is  wanted?" 


DOCTOR'S  TELEPHONE  35 

"Certainly." 

She  flew  to  the  Farmers'  phone. 

"Is  this  Dr.  Blank's?" 

"Yes." 

"Good  while  a-answerin',"  grumbled  a  voice. 

"I  did  answer  but  no  one  answered  me." 

"Where's  the  doctor?" 

"He's  down  in  the  east  part  of  town  —  will 
be  back  in  a  little  bit." 

"Well,  when  he  comes  tell  him  —  just  hold  the 
'phone  a  minute,  will  you,  till  I  speak  to  my 
wife." 

"All  right."  But  she  put  the  receiver  swiftly 
up  and  rushed  back  to  the  waiting  man.  She 
could  answer  him  and  get  back  by  the  time  the 
other  was  ready  for  her. 

"Hello,  still  there?" 

"Yes." 

"I've  thought  of  the  name  —  father  went  to 
Elijah  Thornton's." 

"Thornton's  —  let's  see  —  have  you  a  tele- 
phone directory  handy —  could  you  give  me 
their  number?" 

"Wait  a  minute,  I'll  see."  She  raced  through 
the  pages,  —  yes,  here  it  is." 

A  violent  peal  from  the  Farmers'  'phone. 
"He'll  think  I'm  still  hunting  for  the  number," 
she  thought,  letting  the  receiver  hang  and  rush- 
ing to  the  other  'phone. 

"Hello." 

"Thought  you  was  a-goin'  to  hold  the'  phone. 
I've  had  a  turrible  time  gittin*  any  answer." 


36  THE  STORY  OF  A 

"I've  had  a  tumble  time,  too,"  thought  poor 
Gertrude. 

"Tell  the  doctor  to  call  me  up,"  and  he  gave 
his  name  and  his  number. 

"All  right,  I'll  tell  him."  She  clapped  the  re- 
ceiver up  lest  there  might  be  more  to  follow  and 
sped  back. 

"Here  it  is,"  she  announced  calmly,  "Elijah 
Thornton,  number  101." 

"Thank  you,  I'm  afraid  I've  put  you  to  a  good 
deal  of  trouble." 

"Not  at  all." 

As  she  went  back  to  her  cake  she  said  to  her- 
self, "Two  telephones  ringing  at  once  can  cer- 
tainly make  things  interesting." 


One  day  in  mid  winter  Mary  sat  half  dreaming 
before  the  glowing  coals.  Snow  had  fallen  all 
through  the  previous  night  and  today  there  had 
been  good  coasting  for  the  boys  and  girls. 

Ting-a-ling-ling-ling.  Ting-a-ling-ling-ling. 
Ting-a-ling-ling-ling. 

She  started  up  and  went  to  answer  it. 

"Is  this  you,  Mary  ?" 

"Yes." 

"I'll  be  out  of  the  office  about  twenty  minutes." 

"Very  well." 

Sometimes  Mary  wished  her  husband  would  be 
a  little  more  explicit.  She  had  a  vague  sort  of 
feeling  that  central,  or  whoever  should  chance 


DOCTOR'S  TELEPHONE  37 

to  hear  him  make  this  announcement  to  her  so 
often,  might  think  she  requested  or  perhaps  de- 
manded it;  might  think  she  wanted  to  know 
every  place  her  husband  went. 

In  about  half  an  hour  the  'phone  rang  again, 
two  rings. 

John  ought  to  be  back.  Should  she 
take  it  for  granted  ?  It  would  be  safer  to  put  the 
receiver  to  her  ear  and  listen  for  her  husband's 
voice. 

"Hello." 

"Hello." 

"Is  this  you  Dr.  Blank?" 

"Looks  like  it." 

"We  want  ye  to  come  down  to  our  house  right 
away." 

"Who  is  this?" 

"W'y,  this  is  Mrs.  Peters." 

"Mrs.  Peters  ?  Oh  yes,"  said  the  doctor,  recog- 
nizing the  voice  now. 

"What's  the  matter  down  there,  grandmother  ?" 

"W'y  —  my  little  grandson,  Johnny,  was  slidin' 
down  hill  on  a  board  and  got  a  splinter  in  his 
setter." 

"He  did,  eh?" 

"Yes,  he  did,  and  a  big  one,  too." 

"Well,  I'll  be  down  there  right  away.  Have 
some  boiled  water." 

Mary  turned  away  from  the  telephone  that  it 
might  not  register  her  low  laughter  as  she  put  the 
receiver  in  its  place.  The  next  instant  she  took 


38  THE  STORY  OF  A 

it  down  again  with  twinkling  eyes  and  listened. 
Yes,  the  voices  were  silent,  it  would  be  safe.  She 
rang  two  rings. 

"Hello,"  said  her  husband's  voice. 

"John,"  said  Mary,  almost  in  a  whisper,  "for 
English  free  and  unadorned,  commend  me  to  a 
little  boy's  grandmother!" 

Two  laughs  met  over  the  wire,  then  two  re- 
ceivers clicked. 


One  day  Mary  came  in  from  a  walk  and  no- 
ticed at  once,  a  vacant  place  on  the  wall  where 
the  Farmers'  'phone  had  hung.  She  had  heard 
rumors  of  a  merger  of  the  two  systems  and  had 
fervently  hoped  that  they  might  merge  soon  and 
forever. 

"Look!  Mamma,"  said  Gertrude,  pointing  to 
the  wall. 

"Oh  frabjous  day!  Callooh!  Callay! 
One     telephone     is     taken     away!" 
she  chortled  in  her  joy. 

(The  small  boy  of  the  household  had  been 
reading  "Alice"  and  consequently  declaiming  the 
Jabberwock  from  morning  till  night,  till  its  weird 
strains  had  become  fixed  in  the  various  minds  of 
the  household  and  notably  in  Gertrude's.) 

"It  will  simplify  matters,"  said  her  mother, 
smiling,  "but  liberty  is  not  for  us.  That  tuneful 
peal  will  still  ring  on,"  and  as  she  looked  at  the 
Citizens'  'phone  the  peal  came. 


DOCTOR'S  TELEPHONE  39 


CHAPTER  III. 

One  Monday  evening  the  doctor  and  his  wife 
sat  chatting  cosily  before  the  fire.  In  the  midst 
of  their  conversation,  Mary  looked  up  suddenly. 
"I  had  a  queer  little  experience  this  morning, 
John,  I  want  to  tell  you  about  it." 

"Tell  ahead,"  said  John,  propping  his  slippered 
feet  up  on  the  fender. 

"Well,  I  got  my  pen  and  paper  ready  to  write 
a  letter  to  Mrs.  E.  I  wanted  to  write  it  yester- 
day afternoon  and  tell  her  some  little  household 
incidents  just  while  they  were  taking  place,  as 
she  is  fond  of  the  doings  and  sayings  of  boys  and 
they  are  more  realistic  if  reported  in  the  present 
tense.  But  I  couldn't  get  at  it  yesterday  after- 
noon. When  I  started  to  write  it  this  morning  it 
occurred  to  me  to  date  the  letter  Sunday  after- 
noon and  write  it  just  as  I  would  have  done  yes- 
terday —  so  I  did.  When  I  had  got  it  half  done 
or  more  I  heard  the  door-bell  and  going  to  open 
it  I  saw  through  the  large  glass  — " 

Ting-a-ling-ling-ling.         Ting-a-ling-ling-ling. 

The  doctor  went  to  the  'phone. 

"Yes." 

"Yes." 

"Where  do  you  live?" 

"I'll  be  right  down." 


40  THE  STORY  OF  A 

He  went  back,  hastily  removed  his  slippers  and 
began  putting  on  his  shoes.  Mary  saw  that  he 
had  clean  forgotten  her  story.  Very  well.  It 
wouldn't  take  more  than  a  minute  to  finish  it  — 
there  would  be  plenty  of  time  while  he  was  get- 
ting into  his  shoes  —  but  if  he  was  not  enough 
interested  to  refer  to  it  again  she  certainly  would 
not.  In  a  few  minutes  the  doctor  was  gone  and 
Mary  went  to  bed.  An  hour  or  two  later  his 
voice  broke  in  upon  her  slumber.  "Back  again," 
he  said  as  he  settled  down  upon  his  pillow.  In 
a  minute  he  exclaimed,  "Say,  Mary,  what  was 
the  rest  of  that  story  ?" 

"O,  don't  get  me  roused  up.  I'm  so  sleepy," 
she  said  drowsily. 

"Well,  I'd  like  to  hear  it."  The  interest  in  her 
little  story  which  had  not  been  exhibited  at  the 
proper  time  was  being  exhibited  now  with  a 
vengeance.  She  sighed  and  said,  "I  can't  think 
of  it  now  —  tell  you  in  the  morning.  Good 
night,"  and  turned  away. 

When  morning  came  and  they  were  both  awake, 
the  doctor  again  referred  to  the  unfinished  story. 

"It's  lost  interest  for  me.  It  wasn't  a  story  to 
start  with,  just  a  little  incident  that  seemed 
odd^-" 

"Well,  let's  have  it." 

"Well,  then,"  said  Mary,  "I  was  writing  away 
when  the  door-bell  rang.  I  went  to  open  it  and 
saw  through  the  glass  the  laundry  man  — " 


DOCTOR'S  TELEPHONE  41 

Ting-a-ling-ling-ling.  Ting-a-ling-ling-ling. 
Ting-a-ling-ling-ling. 

"Go  on !"  exclaimed  her  husband,  hurriedly, 
"I'll  wait  till  you  finish." 

"I'll  not  race  through  a  story  in  any  such  John 
Gilpin  style,"  said  Mary,  tartly.  "Go,  John  I 

The  doctor  arose  and  went. 

"No." 

"I  think  not." 

"Has  she  any  fever?" 

"All  right,  I'll  be  down  in  a  little  bit." 

Then  he  went  back.  "Now  you  can  finish,"  he 
said. 

"Finis  is  written  here,"  said  Mary.  "Don't 
say  story  to  me  again!"  So  Mary's  story  re- 
mained unfinished. 

But  a  few  days  later,  when  she  was  in  the 
buggy  with  her  husband  she  relented.  "Now 
that  the  'phone  can't  cut  me  short,  John,  I  will 
finish  about  the  odd  incident  just  because  you 
wanted  to  know.  But  it  will  fall  pretty  flat  now, 
as  all  things  do  with  too  many  preliminary 
flourishes." 

"Go  on,"  said  the  doctor. 

"Well,  you  know  I  told  you  I  dated  my  letter 
back  to  Sunday  afternoon,  and  was  writing  away 
when  I  heard  the  door-bell  ring.  As  I  started 
toward  the  door  I  saw  the  laundry  man  standing 
there.  I  was  conscious  of  looking  at  him  in 
astonishment  and  in  a  dazed  sort  of  way  as  I 
walked  across  the  large  room  to  open  the  door. 


42  THE  STORY  OF  A 

I  am  sure  he  must  have  noticed  the  expression 
on  my  face.  When  I  opened  the  door  he  asked 
as  he  always  does,  'Any  laundry  ?' " 

"'Any  laundry  today?'  The  words  were  on 
my  tongue's  end  but  I  stopped  them  in  time. 
You  see  it  was  really  Sunday  to  me,  so  deep  into 
the  spirit  of  it  had  I  got,  and  it  was  with  a 
little  shock  that  I  came  back  to  Monday  again 
in  time  to  answer  the  man  in  a  rational  way. 
And  now  my  story's  done." 

"Not  a  bad  one,  either,"  said  John,  "I'm  glad 
you  condescended  to  finish  it." 


The  doctor  came  home  at  ten  o'clock  and  went 
straight  to  bed  and  to  sleep.  At  eleven  he  was 
called. 

"What  is  it  ?"  he  asked  gruffly. 

"It's  time  for  Silas  to  take  his  medicine  and 
he  won't  do  it." 

"Won't,  eh?" 

"No.  he  vows  he  won't." 

"Well,  let  him  alone  for  a  while  and  then  try 
again." 

About  one  came  another  ring. 

"We've  both  been  asleep,  Doctor,  but  I've  been 
up  fifteen  minutes  trying  to  get  him  to  take  his 
medicine  and  he  won't  do  it.  He  says  it's  too 
damned  nasty  and  that  he  don't  need  it  anyhow." 

"Tell  him  I  say  he's  a  mighty  good  farmer, 
but  a  devilish  poor  doctor." 


DOCTOR'S  TELEPHONE  43 

"I  don't  know  what  to  do.  I  can't  make  him 
take  it." 

"You'll  have  to  let  him  alone  for  awhile  I 
guess,  maybe  he'll  change  his  mind  after  awhile." 

At  three  o'clock  the  doctor  was  again  at  the 
telephone. 

"Doctor,  he  just  will  not  take  it,"  the  voice  was 
now  quite  distressed.  "I  can't  manage  him  at 
all." 

"You  ought  to  manage  him.  What's  a  wife 
for?  Well,  go  to  bed  and  don't  bother  him  or 
me  any  more  tonight." 

But  early  next  morning  Silas'  wife  telephoned 
again. 

"I  thought  I  ought  to  tell  you  that  he  hasn't 
taken  it  yet." 

"He'll  get  well  anyway.  Don't  be  a  bit  uneasy 
about  him,"  said  the  doctor,  laughing,  as  he  rung 
off. 


"It's  time  to  go,  John." 

Mary  was  drawing  on  her  gloves.  She  looked 
at  her  moveless  husband  as  he  sat  before  the 
crackling  blaze  in  the  big  fireplace. 

"This  is  better  than  church,"  he  made  reply. 

"But  you  promised  you  would  go  tonight. 
Come  on." 

"It  isn't  time  yet,  is  it?" 

"The  last  bell  will  ring  before  we  get  there." 

"Well,  let's  wait  till  all  that  singing's  over. 
That  just  about  breaks  my  back." 


44  THE  STORY  OF  A 

Mary  sat  down  resignedly.  If  they  missed  the 
singing  perhaps  John  would  not  look  at  his  watch 
and  sigh  so  loud  during  the  sermon.  And  it 
might  not  be  a  bad  idea  to  miss  the  singing  for 
another  reason.  The  last  time  John  had  gone  to 
church  he  had  astonished  her  by  sliding  up  be- 
side her,  taking  hold  of  the  hymn-book  and  sing- 
ing! It  happened  to  be  his  old  favorite,  "Sweet 
fields  beyond  the  swelling  flood." 

Of  course  it  was  lovely  that  he  should  want 
to  sing  it  with  her  —  but  the  way  he  sang  it !  He 
was  in  the  wrong  key  and  he  came  out  two  or 
three  syllables  behind  on  most  of  the  lines,  but 
undismayed  by  the  sudden  curtailment  went 
boldly  ahead  on  the  next.  And  Mary  had  been 
much  relieved  when  the  hymn  was  ended  and 
the  book  was  closed.  So  now  she  waited  very 
patiently  for  her  husband  to  make  some  move 
toward  starting.  By  and  by  he  got  up  and  they 
went  out.  No  sooner  was  the  door  closed  behind 
them  than  the  "ting-a-ling-ling-ling"  was  heard. 
The  doctor  threw  open  the  door  and  went  back. 
Mary,  waiting  at  the  threshold,  heard  one  side  of 
the  dialogue. 

"Yes." 

"Down  where?" 

"Shake  up  your  'phone.    I  can't  hear  you. 

"That's  better.    Now  what  is  it?" 

"Swallowed  benzine,  did  she  ?  How  much  ?. . . 
That  won't  kill  her.  Give  her  some  warm  water 
to  drink.  And  give  her  a  spoonful  of  mustard 


DOCTOR'S  TELEPHONE  45 

—  anything  to  produce  vomiting She  has  ? 

That's  all  right.  Tell  her  to  put  her  finger  down 

her  throat  and  vomit  some  more No,  I 

think  it  won't  be  necessary  for  me  to  come  down. 
....  You  would  ?  Well,  let  me  hear  again  in 
the  next  hour  or  two,  and  if  you  still  want  me 
I'll  come.  Good-bye." 

They  walked  down  the  street  and  as  they  drew 
near  the  office  they  saw  the  figure  of  the  office 
boy  in  the  doorway  silhouetted  against  the  light 
within.  He  was  looking  anxiously  in  their  di- 
rection. Suddenly  he  disappeared  and  the  faint 
sound  of  a  bell  came  to  their  ears.  They  quick- 
ened their  pace  and  as  they  came  up  the  boy  came 
hurriedly  to  the  door  again. 

"Is  that  you.  Doctor?"  he  asked,  peering  out. 

"Yes." 

"I  told  a  lady  at  the  'phone  to  wait  a  minute, 
she's  'phoned  twice."  Mary  waited  at  the  door 
while  her  husband  went  into  the  office  and  over 
to  the  'phone. 

"Yes.  What  is  it?. ...  No.  No.  No!.... 

Listen  to  me Be  still  and  listen  to  me!  She's 

in  no  more  danger  of  dying  than  you  are.  She 

couldn't  die  if  she  tried Be  still,  I  say,  and 

listen  to  me!"  He  stamped  his  foot  mightily. 
Mary  laughed  softly  to  herself.  "Now  don't 
hang  over  her  and  sympathise  with  her;  that's 
exactly  what  she  don't  need.  And  don't  let  the 
ne:ghbors  hang  around  her  either.  Shut  the 
whole  tea-party  out Well,  tell  'em  /  said  so. 


46  THE  STORY  OF  A 

....  I  don't  care  a  damn  what  they  think.  Your 
duty  and  mine  is  to  do  the  very  best  we  can  for 

that  girl.  Now  remember Yes,  I'll  be  down 

on  the  nine  o'clock  train  tomorrow  morning. 
Good-bye."  He  joined  his  wife  at  the  door.  "If 
anybody  wants  me,  come  to  the  church,"  he  said, 
turning  to  the  boy. 

Mary  laid  her  hand  within  her  husband's  arm 
and  they  started  on.  They  met  a  man  who 
stopped  and  asked  the  doctor  how  soon  he  would 
be  at  the  office,  as  he  was  on  his  way  there  to  get 
some  medicine. 

"I'd  better  go  back,"  said  the  doctor  and  back 
they  went.  It  seemed  to  Mary  that  her  husband 
might  move  with  more  celerity  in  fixing  up  the 
medicine.  He  was  deliberation  itself  as  he  cut 
and  arranged  the  little  squares  of  paper.  Still 
more  deliberately  he  heaped  the  little  mounds  of 
white  powder  upon  them.  She  looked  on  anx- 
iously. At  last  he  was  ready  to  fold  them  up! 
No,  he  reached  for  another  bottle.  He  took  out 
the  cork,  but  his  spatula  was  not  in  sight.  Nowise 
disturbed,  he  shifted  bottles  and  little  boxes  about 
on  the  table. 

"Can't  you  use  your  knife,  Doctor?"  asked 
Mary. 

"O,  I'll  find  it  —  it's  around  here  somewhere." 
In  a  minute  or  two  the  missing  spatula  was  dis- 
covered under  a  paper,  and  then  the  doctor 
slowly,  so  slowly,  dished  out  little  additions  to 
the  little  mounds.  Then  he  laid  the  spatula  up, 


DOCTOR'S  TELEPHONE  47 

put  the  cork  carefully  back  in  the  bottle,  turned 
in  his  chair  and  put  two  questions  to  the  waiting 
man,  turned  back  and  folded  the  mounds  in  the 
squares  with  the  most  painstaking  care.  In  spite 
of  herself  Mary  fidgeted  and  when  the  powders 
with  instructions  were  delivered  and  the  man  had 
gone,  she  rose  hastily.  "Do  come  now  before 
somebody  else  wants  something." 

The  singing  was  over  and  the  sermon  just  be- 
ginning when  they  reached  the  church.  It  pro- 
gressed satisfactorily  to  the  end.  The  doctor  usu- 
ally made  an  important  unit  in  producing  that 
"brisk  and  lively  air  which  a  sermon  inspires 
when  it  is  quite  finished."  But  tonight,  a  few 
minutes  before  the  finale  came,  Mary  saw  the 
usher  advancing  down  the  aisle.  He  stopped  at 
their  seat  and  bending  down  whispered  something 
to  the  doctor,  who  turned  and  whispered  some- 
thing to  his  wife. 

"No,  I'll  stay  and  walk  home  with  the  Rands. 
I  see  they're  here,"  she  whispered  back. 

The  doctor  rose  and  went  out.  "Who's  at  the 
office?"  he  asked,  as  he  walked  away  with  the 
boy. 

"She's  not  there  yet,  she  telephoned.  I  told 
her  you  was  at  church." 

"Did  she  say  she  couldn't  wait  ?" 

"She  said  she  had  been  at  church  too,  but  a 
bug  flew  in  her  ear  and  she  had  to  leave,  and  she 
guessed  you'd  have  to  leave  too,  because  she 
couldn't  stand  it.  She  said  it  felt  awful" 


48  THE  STORY  OF  A 

"Where  is  she?" 

"She  was  at  a  house  by  the  Methodist  church, 
she  said,  when  she  'phoned  to  see  if  you  was 
at  the  office.  When  I  told  her  I'd  get  you  from 
the  other  church,  she  said  she'd  be  at  the  office 
by  the  time  you  got  there." 

And  she  was,  sitting  uneasily  in  a  big  chair. 

"Doctor,  I've  had  a  flea  in  my  ear  sometimes,  but 
this  is  a  different  proposition.  Ugh !  Please  get 
this  creature  out  now.  It  feels  as  big  as  a  bat. 
Ugh !  It's  crawling  further  in,  hurry !" 

"Maybe  we'd  better  wait  a  minute  and  see  if 
it  won't  be  like  some  other  things,  in  at  one  ear 
and  out  at  the  other." 

"O,  hurry,  it'll  get  so  far  in  you  can't  reach  it." 

"Turn  more  to  the  light,"  commanded  the  doc- 
tor, and  in  a  few  seconds  he  held  up  the  offend- 
ing insect. 

"O,  you  only  got  a  little  of  it !" 

"I  got  it  all." 

"Well,  it  certainly  felt  a  million  times  bigger 
than  that,"  and  she  departed  radiantly  happy. 


DOCTOR'S  TELEPHONE  49 


CHAPTER  IV. 

One  day  in  early  spring  the  doctor  surprised 
his  wife  by  asking  her  if  she  would  like  to  take 
a  drive. 

"In  March?  The  roads  are  not  passable  yet, 
surely." 

But  the  doctor  assured  her  that  the  roads 
were  getting  pretty  good  .except  in  spots.  "I 
have  such  a  long  journey  ahead  of  me  today  that 
I  want  you  to  ride  out  as  far  as  Centerville  and 
I  can  pick  you  up  as  I  come  back." 

"That's  seven  or  eight  miles.  I'll  go.  I  can 
stop  at  Dr.  Parkin's  and  chat  with  Mrs.  Parkin 
till  you  come." 

Accordingly  a  few  minutes  later  the  doctor 
and  Mary  were  speeding  along  through  the  town 
which  they  soon  left  far  behind  them. 

About  two  miles  out  they  saw  a  buggy  down 
the  road  ahead  of  them  which  seemed  to  be  at 
a  stand-still.  When  they  drew  near  they  found 
a  woman  at  the  horses'  heads  with  a  broken  strap 
in  her  hand.  She  was  gazing  helplessly  at  the 
buggy  which  stood  hub-deep  in  ntud.  She  rec- 
ognized the  doctor  and  called  out,  "Dr.  Blank,  if 
ever  I  needed  a  doctor  in  my  life,  it's  now." 

"Stuck  fast,  eh?" 


50  THE  STORY  OF  A 

The  doctor  handed  the  reins  to  his  wife  and 
got  out. 

"I  see — a  broken  single-tree.  Well,  I  always 
unload  when  I  get  stuck,  so  the  first  thing  we 
do  we'll  take  this  big  lummox  out  of  here,"  he 
said  picking  his  way  to  the  buggy.  The  lummox 
rose  to  her  feet  with  a  broad  grin  and  permitted 
herself  to  be  taken  out.  She  was  a  fat  girl 
about  fourteen  years  old. 

"My!  I'll  bet  she  weighs  three  hundred 
pounds,"  observed  the  doctor  when  she  was 
landed,  which  was  immediately  resented.  Then 
he  took  the  hitching-rein  and  tied  the  tug  to  the 
broken  end  of  the  single-tree;  after  which  he 
went  to  the  horses'  heads  and  commanded  them 
to  "Come  on."  They  started  and  the  next  in- 
stant the  vehicle  was  on  terra  firma.  Mother 
and  daughter  gave  the  doctor  warm  thanks  and 
each  buggy  went  its  separate  way. 

Mary  was  looking  about  her.  "The  elms  have 
a  faint  suspicion  that  spring  is  coming;  the  wil- 
lows only  are  quite  sure  of  it,"  she  said,  noting 
their  tender  greenth  which  formed  a  soft  blur 
of  color,  the  only  color  in  all  the  gray  landscape. 
No,  there  is  a  swift  dash  of  blue,  for  a  jay  has 
settled  down  on  the  top  of  a  rail  just  at  our  trav- 
elers' right. 

Soon  they  were  crossing  a  long  and  high 
bridge  spanning  a  creek  which  only  a  week  be- 
fore had  been  a  raging  torrent ;  the  drift,  caught 
and  held  by  the  trunks  of  the  trees,  and  the 


DOCTOR'S  TELEPHONE  51 

weeds  and  grasses  all  bending  in  one  direction, 
told  the  story.  But  the  waters  had  subsided  and 
now  lay  in  deep,  placid  pools. 

"Stop,  John,  quick!"  commanded  Mary  when 
they  were  about  half  way  across.  The  doctor 
obeyed  wondering  what  could  be  the  matter.  He 
looked  at  his  wife,  who  was  gazing  down  into 
the  pool  beneath. 

"I  suppose  I'm  to  stop  while  you  count  all  the 
fish  you  can  see." 

"I  was  looking  at  that  lovely  concave  sky 
down  there.  See  those  two  white  clouds  floating 
so  serenely  across  the  blue  far,  far  below  the 
tip-tops  of  the  elm  trees." 

The  doctor  drove  relentlessly  on. 

"Another  mudhole,"  said  Mary  after  a  while, 
"but  this  time  the  travelers  tremble  on  the  brink 
and  fear  to  launch  away." 

When  they  came  up  they  found  a  little  girl 
standing  by  the  side  of  the  horse  holding  up 
over  its  back  a  piece  of  the  harness.  She  held  it 
in  a  very  aimless  and  helpless  way.  "See,"  said 
Mary,  "she  doesn't  know  what  to  do  a  bit  more 
than  I  should.  I  wonder  if  she  can  be  alone." 

The  doctor  got  out  and  went  forward  to  help 
her  and  discovered  a  young  man  sitting  cozily 
in  the  carriage.  He  glanced  at  him  contemp- 
tuously. 

"Your  harness  is  broken,  have  you  got  a 
string?"  he  asked  abruptly. 


52  THE  STORY  OF  A 

"N-n-o,  I  haven't,"  said  the  youth  feeling 
about  his  pockets. 

"Take  your  shoe-string.  If  you  haven't  got 
one  I'll  give  you  mine,"  and  he  set  his  foot  en- 
ergetically on  the  hub  of  the  wheel  to  unlace  his 
shoe. 

"Why,  I've  got  one  here,  I  guess,"  and  the 
young  man  lifted  a  reluctant  foot.  The  doctor 
saw  and  understood.  The  little  sister  was  to  fix 
the  harness  in  order  to  save  her  brother's  brand 
new  shoes  from  the  mud. 

"You'd  better  fix  that  harness  yourself,  my 
friend,  and  fix  it  strong,"  was  the  doctor's  part- 
ing injunction  as  he  climbed  into  the  buggy  and 
started  on. 

"I  don't  like  the  looks  of  this  slough  of  de- 
spond," said  Mary.  The  next  minute  the  horses 
were  floundering  through  it,  tugging  with  might 
and  main.  Now  the  wheels  have  sunk  to  the 
hubs  and  the  horses  are  straining  every  muscle. 

"Merciful  heaven !"  gasped  Mary.  At  last  they 
were  safely  through,  and  the  doctor  looking  back 
said,  "That  is  the  last  great  blot  on  our  civiliza- 
tion— bad  roads." 

After  a  while  there  came  from  across  the 
prairie  the  ascending,  interrogative  boo-oo-m  of 
a  prairie  chicken  not  far  distant,  while  from  far 
away  came  the  faint  notes  of  another.  And  now 
a  different  note,  soft,  melodious  and  mournful 
is  heard. 


DOCTOR'S  TELEPHONE  53 

"How  far  away  do  you  think  that  dove 'is?" 
asked  the  doctor. 

"It  sounds  as  if  it  might  be  half  a  mile." 
"It  is  right  up  here  in  this  tree  in  the  field." 
"Is  it,"  said  Mary,  looking  up.     "Yes,  I  see, 
it's  as  pretty  and  soft  as  its  voice.    But  I'm  get- 
ting sunburned,  John.     How  hot  a  March  day 
can  get!" 

"Only  two  more  miles  and  good  road  all  the 
way." 

A  few  minutes  more  and  Mary  was  set  down 
at  Centerville,  "I'll  be  back  about  sunset,"  an- 
nounced her  husband  as  he  drove  off. 

A  very  pleasant-faced  woman  answered  the 
knock  at  the  door.  She  had  a  shingle  in  her  hand 
and  several  long  strips  of  muslin  over  her  arm. 
She  smilingly  explained  that  she  didn't  often 
meet  people  at  the  door  with  a  shingle  but  that 
she  was  standing  near  the  door  when  the  knock 
came. 

Mary,  standing  by  the  bed  and  removing  hat 
and  gloves,  looked  about  her. 

"What  are  you  doing  with  that  shingle  and 
all  this  cotton  and  stuff,  Mrs.  Parkin?"  she 
asked. 

"Haven't  you  ever  made  a  splint?" 
"A  splint  ?    No  indeed,  I'm  not  equal  to  that." 
"That's  what  I'm  doing  now.    There's  a  boy 
with  a  broken  arm   in    the   office   in   the    next 
room." 


54  THE  STORY  OF  A 

"Oh,  your  husband  has  his  office  here  at  the 
house." 

"Yes,  and  it's  a  nuisance  sometimes,  too,  but 
one  gets  used  to  it." 

"I'll  watch  you  and  learn  something  new  about 
the  work  of  a  doctor's  wife." 

"You'll  learn  then  to  have  a  lot  of  pillow  slips 
and  sheets  on  hand.  Old  or  new,  Dr.  Parkin 
just  tears  them  up  when  he  gets  in  a  hurry — it 
doesn't  matter  to  him  what  goes." 

The  doctor's  wife  put  cotton  over  the  whole 
length  of  the  shingle  and  wound  the  strips  of 
muslin  around  it;  then  taking  a  needle  and 
thread  she  stitched  it  securely.  Mary  sat  in  her 
chair  watching  the  process  with  much  interest. 
"You  have  made  it  thicker  in  some  places  than 
in  others,"  she  said. 

"Yes ;  that  is  to  fit  the  inequalities  of  the  arm." 
Mary  looked  at  her  admiringly.  "You  are  some- 
thing of  an  artist,"  she  observed. 

Just  as  Mrs.  Parkin  finished  it  her  husband 
appeared  in  the  doorway. 

"Is  it  done?"  he  asked. 

"It's  just  finished." 

"May  I  see  you  put  it  on,  Doctor?"  asked 
Mary,  rising  and  coming  forward. 

"Why,  good  afternoon,  Mrs.  Blank.  I'm  glad 
to  see  you  out  here.  Yes,  come  right  in.  How's 
the  doctor?" 

"Oh,  he  is  well  and  happy — I  think  he  expects 
to  cut  off  a  foot  this  afternoon." 


DOCTOR'S  TELEPHONE  55 

A  boy  with  a  frightened  look  on  his  face  stood 
in  the  doctor's  office  with  one  sleeve  rolled  up. 
The  doctor  adjusted  the  fracture,  then  applied 
the  splint  while  his  wife  held  it  steady  until  he 
had  made  it  secure.  When  the  splint  was  in 
place  and  the  boy  had  gone  a  messenger  came  to 
tell  the  doctor  he  was  wanted  six  miles  away. 

About  half  an  hour  afterward  a  little  black- 
eyed  woman  came  in  and  said  she  wanted  some 
more  medicine  like  the  last  she  took. 

"The  doctor's  gone,"  said  Mrs.  Parkin,  "and 
will  not  be  back  for  several  hours." 

"Well,  you  can  get  it  for  me,  can't  you?" 

"Do  you  know  the  name  of  it?" 

"No,  but  I  believe  I  could  tell  it  if  I  saw  it," 
said  the  patient,  going  to  the  doctor's  shelves 
and  looking  closely  at  the  bottles  and  phials  with 
their  contents  of  many  colors.  She  took  up  a 
three-ounce  bottle.  "This  is  like  the  other  bottle 
and  I  believe  the  medicine  is  just  the  same  color. 
Yes,  I'm  sure  it  is,"  she  said,  holding  it  up  to 
the  light.  Mary  looked  at  her  and  then  at  Mrs. 
Parkin. 

"I  wouldn't  like  to  risk  it,"  said  the  latter  lady. 

"Oh,  I'm  not  afraid.  I  don't  want  to  wait  until 
the  doctor  comes  and  I  know  this  must  be  like 
the  other.  It's  exactly  the  same  color." 

"My  good  woman,"  said  Mary,  "you  certainly 
will  not  risk  that.  It  might  kill  you." 

"No,  Mrs.  Dawson,  you  must  either  wait  till 
the  doctor  comes  or  come  again,"  said  Mrs. 


56  THE  STORY  OF  A 

Parkin.  The  patient  grumbled  a  little  about 
having  to  make  an  extra  trip  and  took  her  leave. 

When  the  door  had  closed  behind  her  Mary 
asked  the  other  doctor's  wife  if  she  often  had 
patients  like  that. 

"Oh,  yes.  People  come  here  when  the  doctor 
is  away  and  either  want  me  to  prescribe  for  them 
or  to  prescribe  for  themselves." 

"You  don't  do  it,  do  you?" 

"Sometimes  I  do,  when  I  am  perfectly  sure 
what  I  am  doing.  Having  the  office  here  in  the 
house  so  many  years  I  couldn't  help  learning  a 
few  things." 

"I  wouldn't  prescribe  for  anything  or  any- 
body. I'd  be  afraid  of  killing  somebody."  About 
an  hour  later  Mary,  looking  out  of  the  window, 
saw  a  wagon  stopping  at  the  gate.  It  contained 
a  man  and  a  woman  and  two  well-grown  girls. 

"Hello!"  called  the  man. 

"People  call  you  out  instead  of  coming  in. 
That  is  less  trouble,"  observed  Mary.  The  doc- 
tor's wife  went  to  the  door. 

"Is  Doc  at  home?" 

"No,  he  has  gone  to  the  country." 

"How  soon  will  he  be  back?" 

"Not  before  supper  time,  probably." 

The  man  whistled,  then  looked  at  his  wife 
and  the  two  girls. 

"Well,  Sally,"  he  said,  "I  guess  we'd  better 
git  out  and  wait  fur  'im." 


DOCTOR'S  TELEPHONE  57 

"W'y,  Pa,  it'll  be  dark  long  before  we  git 
home,  if  we  do." 

"I  can't  help  that.  I'm  not  agoin'  to  drive 
eight  miles  tomorry  or  next  day  nuther." 

"If  ye'd  'a  started  two  hour  ago  like  I  wanted 
ye  to  do,  maybe  Doc  'd  'a  been  here  and  we  c'd 
'a  been  purty  nigh  home  by  this  time." 

"Shet  up !  I  told  ye  I  wasn't  done  tradin' 
then." 

"It  don't  take  me  all  day  to  trade  a  few  aigs 
for  a  jug  o'  m'lasses  an'  a  plug  o'  terbacker." 

For  answer  the  head  of  the  house  told  his 
family  to  "jist  roll  out  now."  They  rolled  out 
and  in  a  few  minutes  they  had  all  rolled  in.  Mrs. 
Parkin  made  a  heroic  effort  not  to  look  inhos- 
pitable which  made  Mary's  heroic  effort  not  to 
look  amused  still  more  heroic. 

When  at  last  the  afternoon  was  drawing  to  a 
close  Mary  went  out  into  the  yard  to  rest.  She 
wished  John  would  come.  Hark!  There  is  the 
ring  of  horses'  hoofs  down  the  quiet  road.  But 
these  are  white  horses,  John's  are  bays.  She 
turns  her  head  and  looks  into  the  west.  Out  in 
the  meadow  a  giant  oak-tree  stands  between  her 
and  the  setting  sun.  Its  upper  branches  are  out- 
lined against  the  grey  cloud  which  belts  the  en- 
tire western  horizon,  while  its  lower  branches 
are  sharply  etched  against  the  yellow  sky  be- 
neath the  grey. 

What  a  calm,  beautiful  sky  it  was! 

She  thought  of  some  lines  she  had  read  more 


58  THE  STORY  OF  A 

than  once  that  morning.  .  .  a  bit  from  George 
Eliot's  Journal: 

"How  lovely  to  look  into  that  brilliant  dis- 
tance and  see  the  ship  on  the  horizon  seeming  to 
sail  away  from  the  cold  and  dim  world  behind 
it  right  into  the  golden  glory!  I  have  always 
that  sort  of  feeling  when  I  look  at  sunset.  It 
always  seems  to  me  that  there  in  the  west  lies 
a  land  of  light  and  warmth  and  love." 

A  carriage  was  now  coming  down  the  road  at 
great  speed.  Mary  saw  it  was  her  husband  and 
went  in  to  put  on  her  things.  In  a  few  minutes 
more  she  was  in  the  buggy  and  they  were  bound 
for  home.  It  was  almost  ten  o'clock  when  they 
got  there.  The  trip  had  been  so  hard  on  the 
horses  that  all  the  spirit  was  taken  out  of  them. 
The  doctor,  too,  was  exceedingly  tired.  "Forty- 
two  miles  is  a  long  trip  to  make  in  an  after- 
noon," he  said. 

"I  hope  Jack  and  Maggie  are  not  up  so  late." 

"It  would  be  just  like  them  to  sit  up  till  we 
came." 

The  buggy  stopped;  the  door  flew  open  and 
Jack  and  Maggie  stood  framed  in  the  doorway 
with  the  leaping  yellow  firelight  for  a  back- 
ground. 


DOCTOR'S  TELEPHONE  59 


CHAPTER  V. 

Once  in  a  while  sympathy  for  a  fellow  mortal 
kept  the  doctor's  wife  an  interested  listener  at 
the  phone.  Going,  one  morning,  to  speak  to  a 
friend  about  some  little  matter  she  heard  her 
husband  say : 

"What  is  it,  doctor?"  A  physician  in  a  little 
town  some  ten  or  twelve  miles  distant,  who  had 
called  Dr.  Blank  in  consultation  a  few  days  be- 
fore, was  calling  him. 

"I  think  our  patient  is  doing  very  well,  but  her 
heart  keeps  getting  a  little  faster." 

"How  fast  is  it  now?" 

"About  120." 

"But  the  disease  is  pretty  well  advanced  now 
— that  doesn't  mean  as  much  as  it  would  earlier. 
But  you  might  push  a  little  on  the  brandy,  or 
the  strychnine  —  how  much  brandy  have  you 
given  her  since  I  saw  her  ?" 

"I  have  given  her  four  ounces." 

"Four  ounces!" 

"Yes." 

"Four  ounces  in  three  days  ?  I  think  you  must 
mean  four  drachms." 

"Yes.  It  is  drachms.  Four  ounces  would  be 
fixing  things  up.  I've  been  giving  her  digitalis ; 
what  do  you  think  about  that?" 


6o  THE  STORY  OF  A 

"That's  all  right,  but  I  think  that  strychnine 
would  be  a  little  better." 

"Would  you  give  her  any  aromatic  spirits  of 
ammonia  ?" 

"Does  she  rattle  ?" 

"A  little." 

"Then  you  might  give  her  a  little  of  that. 
'And  keep  the  room  open  and  stick  right  to  her 
and  she  ought  to  get  along.  Don't  give  her 
much  to  eat." 

"Is  milk  all  right?" 

"Yes.    You  bet  it  is." 

"All  right  then,  doctor,  I  believe  that's  all. 
Good-bye." 

On  another  occasion,  Mary  caught  this  frag- 
ment: 

"She's  so  everlastin'  sore  that  she  just  hollers 
and  yells  every  time  I  go  near  her.  Would 
you  give  her  any  more  morphine?" 

"Morphine's  a  thing  you  can't  monkey  with 
you  know,  Doctor.  You  want  to  be  mighty  care- 
ful about  that." 

"Yes.  I  know.  How  long  will  that  morphine 
last?" 

"That  depends  on  how  you  use  it.  It  won't 
last  long  if  you  use  too  much  and  neither  will 
she." 

"I  mean  how  long  will  it  last  in  the  system  ?" 

"O !    Why,  three  or  four  hours." 

"Well,  I  think  she  don't  need  no  more  medi- 
cine." 


DOCTOR'S  TELEPHONE  61 

Mary  smiled  at  the  double  negative  and  when 
she  laughingly  spoke  of  it  that  night  her  hus- 
band assured  her  that  that  doctor's  singleness 
of  purpose  more  than  offset  his  doubleness  of 
negative.  That  he  was  a  fine  fellow  and  a  good 
physician  just  the  same. 


One  morning  in  March  just  as  the  doctor  arose 
from  the  breakfast  table  he  was  called  to  the 
'phone. 

"Is  this  Dr.  Blank?" 

"Yes." 

"Doctor,  will  it  hurt  the  baby  to  bathe  it 
every  morning?"  I've  been  doing  that  but 
some  of  the  folks  around  here  say  I  oughtn't  to 
do  it;  they  say  it  isn't  good  for  a  baby  to  bathe 
it  so  often." 

The  doctor  answered  solemnly,  "The  baby's 
fat  and  healthy  isn't  it?" 

"Yes,  sir." 

"And  pretty?" 

"Yes,  sir" 

"Likes  to  see  it's  mamma?" 

"You  know  it." 

"Likes  to  see  its  papa?" 

"He  does  that !"  said  the  young  mother. 

"Then  ask  me  next  fall  if  it  will  hurt  to  bathe 
the  baby  every  morning." 

"All  right,  Doctor,"  laughed  the  baby's 
mamma. 


62  THE  STORY  OF  A 

"The  fools  are  not  all  dead  yet,"  said  John,  as 
he  took  his  hat  and  departed.  On  the  step  he 
turned  back  and  put  his  head  in  at  the  door. 
"Keep  an  ear  out,  Mary.  I'm  likely  to  be  away 
from  the  office  a  good  bit  this  morning." 

An  hour  later  a  call  came.  Mary  put  the  ear 
that  was  "out"  to  the  receiver: 

"It's  on  North  Adams  street." 

"All  right.  I'll  be  out  there  after  awhile," 
said  her  husband's  placid  voice. 

"Don't  wait  too  long.  He  may  die  before  you 
git  here." 

"No,  he  won't.    I'll  be  along  pretty  soon." 

"Well,  come  just  as  quick  as  you  can." 

"All  right,"  and  the  listener  knew  that  it 
might  be  along  toward  noon  before  he  got  there. 

About  eleven  o'clock  the  'phone  rang  sharply. 

"Is  this  Dr.  Blank's  house?" 

"Yes." 

"Is  he  there?" 

"I  saw  him  pass  here  about  twenty  minutes 
ago.  I'm  sure  he'll  be  back  to  the  office  in  a  lit- 
tle bit." 

My  land !  I've  been  here  three  or  four  times. 
Looks  like  I'd  ketch  him  some  time." 

"You  are  at  the  office  then?  If  you  will  sit 
down  and  wait  just  a  little  while,  he  will  be  in." 

"I  come  six  miles  to  see  him.  I  supposed  of 
course  he'd  be  in  some  time,"  grumbled  the  voice 
(of  course  a  woman's). 

"But  when  he  is  called  to  visit  a  patient  he 
must  go,  you  know,"  explained  Mary. 


DOCTOR'S  TELEPHONE  63 

"Y-e-s,"  admitted  the  voice  reluctantly.  "Well, 
I'll  wait  here  a  little  while  longer." 

Ten  minutes  later  Mary  rang  the  office.  Her 
husband  replied. 

"How  long  have  you  been  back,  John  ?" 

"O,  five  or  ten  minutes." 

"Did  you  find  a  woman  waiting  for  you?" 

"No." 

"Well,  I  assured  her  you'd  be  there  in  a  few 
minutes  and  she  said  she'd  wait." 

"Do  you  know  who  she  was  ?" 

"No.  Some  one  from  the  country.  She  said 
she  came  six  miles  to  see  you  and  she  supposed 
you'd  be  in  your  office  some  time,  and  that 
sometime  was  mightly  emphatic." 

"O,  yes,  I  know  now.  She'll  be  in  again," 
laughed  the  doctor  and  Mary  felt  relieved,  for 
in  the  querulous  tones  of  the  disappointed 
woman  she  had  read  disapproval  of  the  doctor 
and  of  herself  too,  as  the  partner  not  only  of 
his  joys  and  sorrows,  but  of  his  laggard  gait  as 
well.  The  people  who  wait  for  a  doctor  are  not 
apt  to  consider  that  a  good  many  more  may  be 
waiting  for  him  also  at  that  particular  moment 
of  time. 


64  THE  STORY  OF  A 


CHAPTER  VI. 

One  of  the  most  discouraging  things  I  have 
encountered  is  a  great  blank  silence.  The  doc- 
tor asks  his  wife  to  keep  a  close  watch  on  the 
telephone  for  a  little  while,  and  leaves  the  office. 
Pretty  soon  it  rings  and  she  goes  to  answer  it. 

"Hello?"  Silence.  "What  is  it?"  More  si- 
lence. She  knows  that  "unseen  hands  of  spirits" 
did  not  ring  that  bell.  She  knows  perfectly  well 
that  there  is  a  listening  ear  at  the  other  end  of 
the  line.  But  you  cannot  converse  with  silence 
any  more  than  you  can  speak  to  a  man  you  meet 
on  the  street  if  he  purposely  looks  the  other  way. 

Mary  knew  that  the  listening  ear  belonged  to 
someone  who  recognized  that  it  was  the  wife 
who  answered  instead  of  the  doctor,  and 
therefore  kept  silent.  She  smiled  and  hung  up 
the  receiver  —  sorry  not  to  be  able  to  help  her 
husband  and  to  give  the  needed  information  to 
the  patient. 

But  when  this  had  happened  several  times  she 
thought  of  a  more  satisfactory  way  of  dealing 
with  the  situation.  She  would  take  down  the 
receiver  and  ask,  "What  is  it?"  She  would  wait 
a  perceptible  instant  and  then  say  distinctly  and 
pleasantly,  "Doctor  Blank  will  be  out  of  the  of- 
fice for  about  twenty  minutes.  He  asked  me  to 


DOCTOR'S  TELEPHONE  65 

tell  you."  That  never  failed  to  bring  an  answer, 
a  hasty,  shame-voiced,  "Oh,  I  —  well  —  thank 
you,  Mrs.  Blank,  I'll  call  again,  then." 


The  doctor's  absence  from  town  has  its  tele- 
phonic puzzles.  One  day  during  Dr.  Blank's 
absence  his  wife  was  called  to  the  'phone. 

"Mrs.  Blank,  a  telegram  has  just  come  for  the 
doctor.  What  must  I  do  with  it?"  It  was  the 
man  at  the  office  who  put  the  question. 

"Do  you  know  what  it  is,  or  where  it's  from  ?" 

"I  asked  the  operator  and  he  says  it's  from 
Mr.  Slocum,  who  is  in  Cincinnati.  He  tele- 
graphed the  doctor  to  go  and  see  his  wife  who 
is  sick." 

"Well,  take  it  over  to  Dr.  Brown's  office  and 
ask  him  to  go  and  see  her." 

About  half  an  hour  later  the  thought  of  the 
telegram  came  into  her  mind.  "I  wonder  if  he 
found  Dr.  Brown  in.  I'd  better  find  out." 

She  rang  the  office.  "Did  you  find  Dr. 
Brown  in?" 

"Yes,  he  was  there." 

"And  you  gave  the  message  to  him  ?" 

"Yes,  he  took  it." 

"I  hope  he  went  right  down?" 

"No,  he  said  he  wouldn't  go." 

"Wouldn't  go !"  exclaimed  Mary,  much  aston- 
ished. 

"He  said  he  knew  Slocum  and  he  was  in  all 
probability  drunk  when  he  sent  the  message." 


66  THE  STORY  OF  A 

"Why,  what  a  queer  conclusion  to  arrive  at. 
The  doctor  may  be  right  but  I  think  we  ought 
to  know." 

"I  called  up  their  house  after  I  came  back  from 
Dr.  Brown's  office,  but  nobody  answered.  So 
she  can't  be  very  sick  or  she'd  be  at  home." 

Mary  put  up  the  receiver  hesitatingly.  She 
was  not  satisfied  about  this  matter.  She  went 
about  her  work,  but  her  thoughts  were  on  the 
message  and  the  sick  wife.  Suddenly  she 
thought  of  something  —  the  Slocum  children 
were  in  school.  The  mother  had  not  been  able 
to  get  to  the  'phone  to  answer  it.  .  The  thought 
of  her  lying  there  alone  and  helpless  was  too 
much.  Mary  went  swiftly  to  the  telephone  and 
called  the  office. 

"Johnson,  you  have  to  pass  Mrs.  Slocum's  on 
your  way  to  dinner.  I  think  she  may  have  been 
too  ill  to  go  to  the  'phone.  Please  stop  and  find 
out  something  definite." 

"All  right." 

"And  let  me  know  as  soon  as  you  can.  If  she 
isn't  sick  don't  tell  her  anything  about  the  tele- 
gram. Think  up  some  excuse  as  you  go  along 
for  coming  in,  in  case  all  is  well." 

In  about  twenty  minutes  the  expected  sum- 
mons came. 

"Well,  I  stopped,  Mrs.  Blank." 

"What  did  you  find?" 

"Well,  I  found  a  hatchet  close  to  Slocum's 
gate." 


DOCTOR'S   TELEPHONE  67 

"How  lucky !" 

"I  took  it  in  to  ask  if  it  was  theirs." 

"Was  it?" 

"No,  it  wasn't." 

"Who  told  you  so?" 

"Mrs.  Slocum,  herself,  and  she's  about  the 
healthiest  looking  invalid  I've  seen  lately." 

"I'm  much  relieved.  Thank  you,  Johnson." 
And  as  she  left  the  'phone  she  meditated  within 
herself,  "Verily,  the  tender  thoughtfulness  of  the 
husband  drunk  exceedeth  that  of  the  husband 
sober." 

When  night  came  and  Mary  was  preparing 
for  bed  she  thought,  "It  will  be  very  unpleasant 
to  be  called  up  only  to  tell  people  the  doctor  is 
not  here."  She  rose,  went  to  the  'phone  and 
called  central. 

"This  is  Mrs.  Blank,  central.  If  anyone 
should  want  the  doctor  tonight,  or  for  the  next 
two  nights,  please  say  he  is  out  of  town  and  will 
not  be  home  until  Saturday." 

Then  with  a  delicious  sense  of  freedom  she 
went  to  bed  and  slept  as  sweetly  as  in  the  long- 
ago  when  the  telephone  was  a  thing  un- 
dreamed of. 


The  ting-a-ling-ling-ling — came  as  Mary  was 
pouring  boiling  water  into  the  teapot,  just  before 
six  on  a  cool  July  evening.  The  maid  was  tem- 
porarily absent  and  Mary  had  been  getting  sup- 


68  THE  STORY  OF  A 

per  in  a  very  leisurely  way  when  she  saw  her 
husband  step  up  on  the  porch.  Then  her  leisure 
was  exchanged  for  hurry.  The  doctor's  appear- 
ance before  meal  time  was  the  signal  to  which 
she  responded  automatically  —  he  had  to  catch  a 
train  —  someone  must  have  him  right  away,  or 
what  not?  She  must  not  keep  him  waiting  a 
minute.  She  pushed  the  teapot  back  on  the  stove 
and  went  swiftly  to  the  'phone. 

"Is  this  Dr.  Blank's  office?"  asked  a  disturbed 
feminine  voice. 

"No,  his  residence.  He  is  here.  Wait  a  min- 
ute, please,  and  I  will  call  him." 

She  hurried  out  to  the  porch,  "Isn't  papa 
here?"  she  asked  of  her  small  boy  sitting  there. 

"He  was." 

"Well,  where  is  he  now?" 

"I  don't  know  where  he  is." 

Provoking!  She  hurried  back.  He  must  be 
in  the  garden.  An  occasional  impulse  to  hoe 
sometimes  came  over  him  (especially  if  the  day 
happened  to  be  Sunday). 

In  the  kitchen  her  daughter  stood  at  a  table 
cutting  the  bread  for  supper.  "Go  quick,  and 
see  if  papa's  in  the  garden.  Tell  him  to  come  to 
the  'phone  at  once." 

Then  she  hurried  back  to  re-assure  the  waiting 
one.  But  what  could  she  tell  her?  Perhaps  the 
doctor  was  not  in  the  garden.  She  rushed  out 
and  beat  her  daughter  in  the  race  toward  it. 
She  sent  her  voice  ahead,  "John!"  she  called. 

"Yes." 


DOCTOR'S  TELEPHONE  69 

"Come  to  the  'phone  this  minute."  Back  she 
ran.  Would  she  still  be  waiting? 

"Hello." 

"Hello." 

"Yes,  the  doctor's  here.  He's  in  the  garden 
but  will  be  in  in  just  a  minute.  Hold  the  'phone 
please." 

"Very  well,  thank  you." 

It  was  a  minute  and  a  half  before  the  doctor 
got  there. 

"Hello."     No  answer. 

"Hello!"     Silence. 

"Hello!"  Still  no  reply.  The  doctor  rang 
sharply  for  central. 

"Who  was  calling  me  a  minute  ago." 

"I  don't  know  —  we  can't  keep  track  of  every- 
body who  calls." 

The  doctor  hung  up  the  receiver  with  an  ex- 
plosive monosyllable.  Mary's  patience  was  giv- 
ing out  too.  "She  couldn't  wait  one  half  minute. 
I  told  her  you  would  be  here  in  a  minute  and  it 
took  you  a  minute  and  a  half." 

"She  may  be  waiting  at  the  office,  I'll  go  down 
there." 

"I  wouldn't  do  it,"  said  Mary,  warmly.  "It's 
much  easier  for  her  to  stay  a  half  minute  at  the 
'phone  than  for  you  to  tramp  back  to  the  office." 

But  he  went.  As  his  wife  went  back  to  the 
kitchen  her  daughter  called,  "Mother,  did  you 
take  the  loaf  of  bread  in  there  with  you  ?" 

"Why,  no." 


7o  THE  STORY  OF  A 

"Well,  it's  not  on  the  table  where  I  was  cut- 
ting it  when  you  sent  me  after  father." 

"It's  on  the  floor!"  shouted  the  small  boy, 
peering  through  the  window.  "/  won't  eat  any 
of  it !" 

"Don't,  exquisite  child,"  said  his  sister,  stoop- 
ing over  to  recover  the  loaf,  dropped  in  her 
haste.  Ting-a-ling-ling-ling.  Mary  went. 

"Isn't  the  doctor  coming?" 

"He  came.  He  called  repeatedly,  but  got  no 
reply." 

"I  was  right  here  with  my  ear  to  the  'phone 
the  whole  time." 

"He  concluded  it  might  be  someone  waiting 
for  him  at  the  office,  so  he  has  gone  down  there." 

"I'm  not  there.     I'm  here  at  home." 

"Hello,"  broke  in  the  doctor's  voice. 

"O,  here  you  are!" 

"Doctor,  I've  been  taking  calomel  today  and 
then  I  took  some  salts  and  I  thoughtlessly  dis- 
solved them  in  some  lemonade  I  had  handy!" 

A  solemn  voice  asked,  "Have  you  made  your 
will?" 

A  little  giggle  before  the  patient  said  "No." 

"You'll  have  plenty  of  time.  You  needn't 
hurry  about  it." 

"You  don't  think  it  will  hurt  me  then?" 

"No.    Not  a  bit." 

"I  was  afraid  the  acid  might  salivate  me." 

"Yes,  that's  an  old  and  popular  idea.  But  it 
won't." 


DOCTOR'S  TELEPHONE  71 

That    sounds    good,    Doctor.     I  was  awfully 
scared.     Much  obliged.     Good-bye." 


A  week  or  two  after  the  above  incident  the 
doctor  was  seated  at  his  dinner,  a  leisurely  Sun- 
day dinner.  The  telephone  called  and  he  rose 
and  went  to  it.  The  usual  hush  fell  upon 
the  table  in  order  that  he  might  hear. 

"Is  this  Dr.  Blank?" 

"Yes." 

"Well,  Doctor,  this  is  Mrs.  Abner.  Would  it 
be  too  much  trouble  for  you  to  step  into  Hall's 
and  ask  them  to  send  me  up  a  quart  of  ice-cream 
for  dinner?" 

"Certainly  not.    A  quart?" 

"Yes,  please.  I'm  sorry  to  bother  you  with  it. 
They  ought  to  have  a  'phone." 

"No  trouble." 

The  doctor  hung  up  the  receiver  and  reached 
for  his  hat. 

"Why,  John,  you  surely  can  finish  your  dinner 
before  you  go!"  exclaimed  Mary. 

"Then  I'd  spoil  Mrs.  Abner's  dinner." 

"Mrs.  Abner!" 

"Yes,  she  wants  a  quart  of  ice-cream  for 
dinner." 

"I'd  like  to  know  what  you've  got  to  do  with 
it,"  said  Mary  tartly. 

"She  thinks  I'm  at  the  office." 

"And  the  office  is  next  door  to  Hall's  and 


72  THE  STORY  OF  A 

Hall's  have  no  'phone,"  said  Mary  smiling.  "Of 
course  you  must  go.  Wouldn't  Mrs.  Abner  feel 
mortified  though  if  she  knew  you  had  to  leave 
your  home  in  the  midst  of  dinner  to  order  her 
ice-cream.  But  do  hurry  back,  John." 

"Maybe  I'd  better  stay  there  till  the  dinner 
hour  is  well  over,"  laughed  John.  "Every  now 
and  then  someone  wants  me  to  step  into  Hall's 
and  order  up  something." 

He  went  good-naturedly  away  and  his  wife 
looked  after  him  marveling,  but  withal  admiring. 


The  doctor  and  his  wife  had  been  slumbering 
peacefully  for  an  hour  or  two.  Then  came  a 
loud  ring  and  they  were  wide  awake  at  once. 

"That  wasn't  the  telephone,  John,  it  was  the 
door-bell." 

The  doctor  got  into  his  dressing-gown  and 
went  to  the  door. 

His  wife  heard  a  man's  voice,  then  her  hus- 
band reply,  then  the  door  shut.  She  lay  back  on 
her  pillow  but  it  was  evident  John  was  not  com- 
ing back.  She  must  have  dozed,  for  it  seemed 
to  her  a  long  time  had  gone  by  when  she  started 
to  hear  a  noise  in  the  other  room.  John  had  not 
yet  got  off. 

"You  have  to  go  some  place,  do  you?"  she 
called. 

"Yes,  —  just  a  little  way.  Look  out  for  the 
'phone,  Mary.  I  think  I'll  have  to  go  down  to 
Hanson's  tonight,  to  meet  the  stork." 


DOCTOR'S  TELEPHONE  73 

"But  how  can  I  get  word  to  you  ?  They  have 
no  'phone  or  that  man  wouldn't  have  come 
after  you." 

"Well,  I  have  promised  Hanson  and  I'll  have 
to  go  there.  If  he  'phones  before  I  get  back 
tell  him  he'll  have  to  come  down  to  Stetson's 
after  me.  Or,  you  might  wake  one  of  the  boys 
and  send  him  over." 

"I'd  rather  try  to  wake  Rip  Van  Winkle,"  said 
Mary,  in  a  tone  that  settled  it. 

In  about  an  hour  the  doctor  was  back  and 
snuggling  down  under  the  covers. 

"They've  got  a  fine  boy  over  to  Stetson's,"  he 
announced  to  his  sleepy  wife. 

"They  have!"  she  exclaimed,  almost  getting 
awake.  Again  they  slept. 

Ting-a-ling-ling-ling.  Ting-a-ling-ling-ling. 
Ting-a-ling-ling-ling. 

"That's  Hanson,"  exclaimed  the  doctor  spring- 
ing up  and  groping  his  way  to  the  'phone. 

"Yes." 

"Out  where?" 

"Smith's  on  Parks  avenue?. . . .  Not  Smith's? 

I  understand  —  a  little  house  farther  down 

that  street Yes,  I'll  come O,  as  soon 

as  I  can  dress  and  get  there." 

Mary  heard,  but  when  he  had  gone,  was  soon 
in  a  deep  sleep. 

By  and  by  she  found  herself  flinging  off  the 
covers  and  hurrying  guiltily  toward  the  sum- 
moning tyrant,  her  subconscious  self  telling  her 
that  this  was  the  third  peal. 


74  THE  STORY  OF  A 

"Hello." 

"Is  the  doctor  there,  Mrs.  Blank?" 

"No,  he  is  over  at  Stetson's.  He  said  if  you 
'phoned  to  tell  you  you  would  have  to  come  there 
as  they  have  no  'phone." 

"Wait  a  minute,  Mrs.  Blank,"  said  the  voice 
of  central,  some  one  is  trying  to  speak — " 

"What  have  I  said !"  thought  Mary  suddenly, 
thoroughly  awake.  "He  got  back  from  Stetson's 
and  went  to  another  place.  But  I  don't  know 
what  place  nor  where  it  is." 

The  kindly  voice  of  central  went  on : 

"It's  the  doctor  who  is  talking,  Mrs.  Blank. 
I  understand  now.  He  says  if  that  message 
comes  you  are  to  'phone  him  at  James  Smith's 
on  Parks  avenue." 

Mary  looked  at  the  clock.  "So  he's  been 
there  all  this  time.  That  stork  is  a  little  too 
busy  tonight,"  she  thought  as  she  went  shiver- 
ing back  to  bed. 

Toward  daylight  she  was  roused  by  the  return 
of  her  husband,  who  announced  a  new  daughter 
in  the  world  and  then  they  went  to  sleep.  The 
next  morning  she  said,  "John,  I've  just  thought 
of  something.  Why  didn't  you  have  central 
'phone  you  at  Smith's  if  Hanson  called  and  save 
me  all  that  bother?" 

"I  guess  it's  because  I'm  so  used  to  bothering 
you  Mary,  that  I  didn't  think  of  it." 


DOCTOR'S  TELEPHONE  75 

Mary  was  upstairs  cleaning  house  most  vigor- 
ously when  the  ring  came.  She  stopped  and 
listened.  It  came  again  —  three.  She  set  the 
dust  pan  down  and  went. 

"I'll  have  to  be  out  for  an  hour  or  more, 
Mary,"  said  the  doctor. 

"I  heard  that  sigh,"  he  laughed,  "but  it  won't 
be  very  hard  to  sort  of  keep  an  ear  on  the  'phone, 
will  it?  Johnson  may  get  in  soon  and  then  it 
won't  be  necessary." 

"Very  well,  then,  John,"  and  she  went  up- 
stairs, leaving  the  doors  open  behind  her. 

She  had  just  reached  the  top  when  she  had  to 
turn  about  and  retrace  her  steps. 

"Hello."    No  answer. 

"Is  someone  calling  Dr.  Blank's  house  or 
office?" 

"I  rang  your  'phone  by  mistake,"  said  central. 
Mary  trudged  up  the  stairs  again.  "This  is 
more  tiresome  than  cleaning  house,"  she  said  to 
herself  as  she  went  along. 

In  twenty  minutes  the  summons  came.  She 
leaned  her  broom  against  the  wall  and  went 
down. 

"O,  this  is  Mrs.  Blank.  I'm  very  sorry  to 
have  put  you  to  this  trouble  —  I  wanted  the 
doctor." 

She  recognized  the  voice  of  her  old  pastor  for 
whom  she  had  a  most  kindly  regard. 

"He  is  out,  but  will  be  back  within  half  an 
hour  now,  Mr.  Rutledge." 


76  THE  STORY  OF  A 

"Thank  you,  I'll  call  again,  but  I  wonder  that 
you  knew  my  voice."  Mary  laughed. 

"I  haven't  heard  it  for  awhile,  but  maybe  I'll 
be  at  church  next  Sunday,  if  minding  the  tele- 
phone doesn't  make  me  feel  too  wicked." 

"It's  the  wicked  that  church  is  for  —  come  by 
all  means." 

"I  didn't  mean  to  detain  you,  Mr.  Rutledge. 
It  is  restful,  though,  after  dragging  one's  weary 
feet  down  to  the  'phone  to  hear  something  be- 
side all  the  ills  that  flesh  is  heir  to.  Come  to 
see  us  soon — one  day  next  week." 

Once  more  she  wended  her  way  upstairs  and 
in  about  fifteen  minutes  came  the  ting-a-ling-a- 
ling-a-ling.  "I  surrender!"  she  declared. 

When  she  had  gone  down  and  put  the  receiver 
to  her  ear  her  husband's  voice  spoke  kindly, 

"I'm  back,  Mary,  you're  released." 

"Thank  you,  John,  you  are  very  thoughtful," 
and  she  smiled  as  she  took  off  her  sun-bonnet 
and  sat  herself  down.  "Not  another  time  will 
I  dimb  those  stairs  this  morning." 


Mary  sat  one  evening  dreamily  thinking  about 
them — these  messages  that  came  every  day,  ev- 
ery day! 

Doctor,  will  it  hurt  Jennie  to  eat  some  toma- 
toes this  morning — she  craves  them  so? 

Will  is  a  great  deal  better.  Can  he  have  some 
ice-cream  for  dinner? 


DOCTOR'S  TELEPHONE  77 

I  can  hardly  manage  Henry  any  longer,  Doc- 
tor, he's  determined  he  will  have  more  to  eat. 
Can  I  begin  giving  him  a  little  more  today  ? 

Lemonade  won't  hurt  Helen,  will  it?  She 
wants  some. 

Doctor,  I  forget  how  many  drops  of  that  clear 

medicine  I  am  to  give Ten,  you  say  ?  Thank 

you. 

Dr.  Blank,  is  it  after  meals  or  before  that  the 

dark  medicine  is  to  be  given I  thought  so, 

but  I  wanted  to  be  sure. 

We  are  out  of  those  powders  you  left.  Do 
you  think  we  will  need  any  more?. . . .  Then  I'll 
send  down  for  them. 

How  long  will  you  be  in  the  office  this  morn- 
ing, Doctor? Very  well,  I'll  be  down  in 

about  an  hour.  I  want  you  to  see  my  throat. 

You  wanted  me  to  let  you  know  how  Johnny 
is  this  morning.  I  don't  think  he  has  any  fever 
now  and  he  slept  all  night,  so  I  guess  you  won't 
need  to  come  down  today. 

Dr.  Blank,  I've  got  something  coming  on  my 
finger.  Do  you  suppose  it's  a  felon  ? . . . .  You 
can  tell  better  when  you  see  it?. ...  Well,  I  sup- 
pose you  can.  I'll  be  down  at  the  office  pretty 
soon  and  then  I  want  you  to  tell  me  it's  not  a 
felon. 

Mary  seems  a  good  deal  better  this  morning, 
but  she  still  has  that  pain  in  her  side. 


78  THE  STORY  OF  A 

Doctor,  I  don't  believe  Joe  is  as  well  as  he 
was  last  night.  I  think  you  had  better  come 
down. 

As  these  old,  old  stories  came  leisurely  into 
Mary's  thoughts  the  telephone  rang  three  times. 
She  rose  from  her  chair  before  the  fire  and  went 
to  answer  it. 

"Is  this  Dr.  Blank's  office  ?" 

"No,  his  residence." 

"Is  the  doctor  there?" 

"No,  but  he  will  be  down  on  the  seven  o'clock 
train." 

"And  it's  now  not  quite  six.  This  is  Mr.  An- 
drews." 

Mary  knew  the  name  and  the  man. 

"My  wife  is  sick  and  I  want  to  get  a  pint  of 
alcohol  for  her." 

"An  old  subterfuge,"  thought  Mary,  "I'm 
afraid  he  wants  it  for  himself."  She  knew  that 
he  was  often  under  its  influence. 

"I  can't  get  it  without  a  prescription  from  a 
physician,  you  know.  She  needs  it  right  away." 

"The  thirst  is  on  him,"  thought  our  listener, 
pityingly. 

The  voice  went  on,  "Mrs.  Blank,  couldn't  you 
just  speak  to  the  druggist  about  it  so  I  could 
get  it  right  away?" 

"Mr.  Andrews,"  she  said  hastily,  "the  drug- 
gist would  pay  no  attention  to  me.  I'm  not  a 
physician,  you  know.  The  doctor  will  be  here 


DOCTOR'S  TELEPHONE  79 

in  an  hour  —  see  him,"  and  she  hurried  the  re- 
ceiver into  its  place,  anxious  to  get  away  from 
it.  This  was  a  story  that  was  entirely  new  to 
her.  Never  before  had  she  been  asked  to  pro- 
cure a  prescription  for  alcohol  or  any  of  its  at- 
tendant spirits.  She  liked  the  old  stories  best. 


The  doctor  had  been  to  the  city  and  had  got 
home  at  four  o'clock  in  the  morning.  He  had 
had  to  change  cars  in  the  night  and  consequently 
had  had  little  sleep.  When  the  door-bell  rang 
his  wife  awakened  instantly  at  the  expected  sum- 
mons and  rose  to  admit  him.  In  a  little  while 
both  were  fast  asleep.  The  wife,  about  a  half 
hour  later,  found  herself  struggling  to  speak  to 
somebody  about  something,  she  did  not  know 
what.  But  when  the  second  long  peal  came 
from  the  'phone  she  was  fully  awakened.  How 
she  hated  to  rouse  the  slumberer  at  her  side. 

"John,"  she  called  softly.    He  did  not  move. 

"John!"  a  little  louder.  He  stirred  slightly, 
but  slept  on. 

"John,  John!" 

"Huh-h?" 

"The  telephone." 

He  threw  back  the  covers,  and  rising,  stumbled 
to  the  'phone. 

"Hello." 

The  voice  of  a  little  boy  came  to  his  half- 
awakened  ear. 


80  THE  STORY  OF  A 

"Say,  Pa,  /  can't  sell  these  papers  an'  git 
through  in  time  fer  school." 

"Yes,  you  can!"  roared  a  voice.  You  jist  want 
to  fool  around."  The  doctor  went  back  to  bed. 

"Wasn't  the  message  for  you?"  inquired  his 
wife.  "What  a  shame  to  rouse  you  from  your 
sleep  for  nothing." 

The  doctor  told  her  what  the  message  was  and 
was  back  in  slumberland  in  an  incredibly  short 
space  of  time.  Not  so  his  wife.  She  was  too 
thoroughly  awake  at  last  and  dawn  was  begin- 
ning to  peep  around  the  edges  of  the  window 
shades.  She  would  not  court  slumber  now  but 
would  lie  awake  with  her  own  thoughts  which 
were  very  pleasant  thoughts  this  morning.  By 
and  by  she  rose  softly,  dressed  and  went  out  onto 
the  veranda  and  looked  long  into  the  reddening 
eastern  sky.  Ever  since  she  could  remember  she 
had  felt  this  keen  delight  at  the  aspect  of  the 
sky  in  the  very  early  morning.  She  stood  for 
awhile,  drinking  in  the  beauty  and  the  peaceful- 
ness  of  it  all.  Then  she  went  in  to  her  awaken- 
ing household,  glad  that  the  little  boy  had 
'phoned  his  "Pa"  and  by  some  means  had  got 
her  too. 


One  midsummer  night  a  tiny  ringing  came 
faintly  and  pleasantly  into  Mary's  dreams.  Not 
till  it  came  the  second  or  third  time  did  she 
awaken  to  what  it  was.  Then  she  sat  up  in  bed 


DOCTOR'S  TELEPHONE  81 

calling  her  husband,  who  had  just  awakened  too 
and  sprung  out  of  bed.  Dazed,  he  stumbled 
about  and  could  not  find  his  way.  With  Mary's 
help  he  got  his  bearings  and  the  next  minute  his 
thunderous  "Hello"  greeted  her  ears. 

"Yes." 

"Worse  tonight?    In  what  way?" 

An  instant's  silence.  "Mrs.  Brownson?"  Si- 
lence. "Mrs.  Brownson !"  Silence. 

"Damn  that  woman !       She's  rung  off." 

"Well,  don't  swear  into  the  'phone,  John.  It's 
against  the  rules.  Besides,  she  might  hear  you." 

The  doctor  was  growling  his  way  to  his 
clothes. 

"I  suppose  I've  got  to  go  down  there,"  was 
all  the  answer  he  made.  When  he  was  dressed 
and  the  screen  had  banged  behind  him  after  the 
manner  of  screens,  Mary  settled  herself  to  sleep 
which  came  very  soon.  But  she  was  soon  routed 
out  of  it.  She  went  to  the  'phone,  expecting 
to  hear  a  querulous  woman's  voice  asking,  "Has 
the  doctor  started  yet?"  and  her  lips  were  fram- 
ing the  old  and  satisfactory  reply,  "Yes,  he  must 
be  nearly  there  now,"  when  a  man's  voice  asked, 
"Is  this  Dr.  Blank's  residence?" 

"Yes." 

"Is  the  doctor  there?" 

"No,  but  he  will  be  back  in  about  twenty  min- 
utes." 

"Will  you  please  tell  him  to  come  to  J.  H. 
Twitchell's?" 


82  THE  STORY  OF  A 

"Yes,  111  send  him  right  down." 

"Thank  you." 

She  went  back  to  her  bed  room  then,  turning, 
retraced  her  steps.  The  doctor  could  come  home 
by  way  of  Twitchell's  as  their  home  was  not  a 
great  distance  from  the  Brownson's. 

She  rang  the  Brownson's  and  after  a  little 
while  a  voice  answered. 

"Is  this  Mrs.  Brownson?" 

"Yes." 

"May  I  speak  to  Dr.  Blank.  I  think  he  must 
be  there  now." 

"He's  been  here.     He's  gone  home." 

Mary  knew  by  the  voice  that  its  owner  had 
not  enjoyed  getting  out  of  bed.  "I  wonder  how 
she  would  like  to  be  in  my  place,"  she  thought, 
smiling.  She  dared  not  trust  herself  to  her  pillow. 
She  might  fall  asleep  and  not  waken  when  her 
husband  came  in.  She  wondered  what  time  it 
was.  Up  there  on  the  wall  the  clock  was  tick- 
ing serenely  away  —  she  had  only  to  turn  the 
button  beside  her  to  find  out.  But  she  did  not 
turn  it.  In  the  sweet  security  of  the  dark  she 
felt  safe.  In  one  brief  flash  of  light  some  prowl- 
ing burglar  might  discover  her. 

She  sat  down  by  the  open  window  and 
looked  up  into  the  starlit  sky.  They  were 
out  tonight  in  countless  numbers.  Over 
there  toward  the  northwest,  lying  along 
the  tops  of  the  trees  was  the  Great  Dipper. 
Wasn't  it?  Surely  that  particular  curve 


DOCTOR'S  TELEPHONE  83 

in  the  handle  was  not  to  be  found  in  any  other 
constellation.  She  tried  to  see  the  Dipper  itself 
but  a  cherry  tree  near  her  window  blotted  it  out. 
Bend  and  peer  as  she  might  the  branches  inter- 
vened. It  was  tantalizing.  She  rose  irresolute. 
Should  she  step  out  doors  where  the  cherry  tree 
would  not  be  in  the  way?  Not  for  a  thousand 
dippers !  She  walked  to  another  window.  That 
view  shut  even  the  handle  out.  She  looked  for 
the  Pleiades.  They  were  not  in  the  section  of 
sky  visible  from  the  window  where  she  stood. 
She  turned  and  listened.  Did  she  hear  foot- 
steps down  the  walk?  She  ought  to  be  hearing 
her  husband's  by  this  time.  He  could  not  be 
walking  at  his  usual  gait.  There  he  came !  She 
went  to  the  door  looked  through  the  screen  and 
halted  him  as  he  drew  near  the  steps. 

"John,  you'll  have  to  take  another  trip.  Mr. 
Twitchell  has  'phoned  for  you." 

He  turned  and  was  soon  out  of  sight.  "Now ! 
I  can  go  to  bed  with  a  clear  conscience,"  and 
Mary  sought  her  pillow.  But  she  had  better 
stay  awake  until  he  had  time  to  get  there  lest  Mr. 
Twitchell  should  'phone  again.  In  five  or  ten 
minutes  the  danger  would  be  over.  She  waited. 
At  last  she  closed  her  eyes  to  sleep.  But  what 
would  be  the  use?  In  twenty  minutes  more  her 
husband  would  come  in  and  rouse  her  out  of  it. 
She  had  better  just  keep  awake  till  he  got  back. 
And  the  next  thing  Mary  heard  was  a  snore.  She 
opened  her  eyes  to  find  it  was  broad  daylight  and 
her  husband  was  sleeping  soundly  beside  her. 


84  THE  STORY  OF  A 


CHAPTER  VII. 

One  afternoon  in  June  Mary  went  into  her 
husband's  office. 

"Has  The  Record  come?"  she  asked. 

"Yes,  it's  on  the  table  in  the  next  room." 

She  went  into  the  adjoining  room  and  seated 
herself  by  the  table.  Taking  up  The  Record, 
she  turned  to  the  editorial  page,  but  before  she 
could  begin  reading  she  heard  a  voice  in  the 
office  say,  "How  do  you  do,  Doctor?" 

"How  do  you  do,  Mr.  Jenkins.    Take  a  seat." 

"No,  I  guess  I'll  not  sit  down.  I  just  wanted 
to  get  —  a  prescription." 

"The  baby's  better,  isn't  it?" 

"Oh,  the  baby's  all  right,  but  I  want  a  pre- 
scription for  myself." 

"What  sort  of  prescription?" 

"I  have  to  take  a  long  ride  in  the  morning, 
driving  cattle,  and  I  want  a  prescription  for  a 
pint  of  whiskey." 

Mary  listened  for  her  husband's  reply.  It 
came. 

"Jenkins,  I  have  taken  many  a  long  ride 
through  dust  and  heat,  through  rain  and  snow 
and  storm,  and  I  never  yet  have  had  to  take  any 
whiskey  along." 

"Well,  I  have  a  little  trouble  with  my  heart 
and—" 


DOCTOR'S  TELEPHONE  85 

"The  trouble's  in  your  head.  If  you'd  throw 
away  that  infernal  pipe  — " 

"Oh,  it's  no  use  to  lecture  me  on  that  any 
more." 

"Very  well,  your  tobacco  may  be  worth  more 
to  you  than  your  heart." 

"Well,  will  you  give  me  that  prescription?" 

"Certainly  I  won't.  You  don't  need  whiskey 
and  you'll  not  get  it  from  me." 

"Gotoh-11!" 

"All  right,  I'll  meet  you  there."  At  which 
warm  farewell  between  these  two  good  friends, 
Mary  leaned  back  in  her  chair  and  laughed  si- 
lently. Then  she  mused:  "People  will  not  be 
saved  from  themselves.  If  only  they  would  be, 
how  much  less  of  sin  and  sickness  and  sorrow 
there  would  be  in  the  world." 

Presently  the  doctor  came  in. 

"I  have  a  trip  to  make  tonight,  Mary.  How 
would  you  like  a  star-light  drive?"  Mary  said 
she  would  like  it  very  much  indeed. 

Accordingly,  at  sunset  the  doctor  drove  up  and 
soon  they  were  out  in  the  open  country.  Chat- 
ting of  many  things  they  drove  along  and  by  and 
by  Mary's  eyes  were  attracted  to  a  beautiful 
castle  up  in  the  clouds  in  the  west,  on  a  great 
golden  rock  jutting  out  into  the  blue.  Far  be- 
low was  a  grand  woman's  form  in  yellow  float- 
ing robes.  She  stood  with  face  upturned  and 
arms  extended  in  an  attitude  of  sorrow  as  if 
she  had  been  banished  from  her  father's  house. 


86  THE  STORY  OF  A 

There  comes  the  father  now.  Slowly,  ma- 
jestically, an  old  man  with  flowing  beard  of  gold 
moves  toward  the  edge  of  the  great  rock.  Now 
he  has  reached  it.  He  bends  his  head  and  looks 
below.  The  attitude  of  the  majestic  woman  has 
changed  to  that  of  supplication.  And  now  the 
father  stretches  down  forgiving  arms  and  the 
queenly  daughter  bows  her  head  against  the 
mighty  wall  and  weeps  in  gladness.  Now  castle 
and  rock,  father  and  daughter  slowly  interchange 
places  and  vanish  from  her  sight.  The  gold 
turns  to  crimson,  then  fades  to  gray.  Just  before 
her  up  there  in  the  clouds  is  a  huge  lion,  couch- 
ant.  See!  he  is  going  to  spring  across  the  pale 
blue  chasm  to  the  opposite  bank.  If  he  fails  he 
will  come  right  down  into  the  road  —  "Oh !" 

"What  is  it?"  asked  the  doctor,  looking 
around,  and  Mary  told  him  with  a  rather  foolish 
smile. 

The  twilight  deepened  into  dusk  and  the  notes 
of  a  whippoorwill  came  to  them  from  a  distance. 
"You  and  I  must  have  nothing  but  sweet 
thoughts  right  now,  John,  because  then  we'll  get 
to  keep  them  for  a  year."  She  quoted : 

"Tis  said  that  whatever  sweet  feeling 
May  be  throbbing  within  the  fond  heart, 
When  listening  to  a  whippoorwill  s-pieling, 
For  a  twelvemonth  will  never  depart." 

"Spieling  doesn't  seem  specially  in  the  whip- 
poorwill's  line." 

It's  exactly  in  his  line.  Years  ago  when  I  was 


DOCTOR'S  TELEPHONE  87 

a  little  girl  he  proved  it.  One  evening  at  dusk 
I  was  sitting  in  an  arbor  when  he,  not  suspecting 
my  presence,  alighted  within  a  few  feet  of  me 
and  began  his  song.  It  was  wonderfully  interest- 
ing to  watch  his  little  throat  puff  and  puff  with  the 
notes  as  they  poured  forth,  but  the  thing  that  as- 
tounded me  was  the  length  of  time  he  sang  with- 
out ever  pausing  for  breath.  And  so  he  is  a 
genuine  spieler.  I  will  add,  however,  that  the 
line  is  'When  listening  to  a  whippoorwill  sing- 
ing.' But  my  literary  conscience  will  never  let 
me  rhyme  singing  with  feeling,  hence  the  sud- 
den change." 

"Now  I'll  speak  my  piece,"  announced  the 
doctor : 

"De  frogs  in  de  pon'  am  a  singin'  all  de  night; 

Wid  de  hallelujah  campmeetin'  tune; 
An'  dey  all  seem  to  try  wid  deir  heart,  soul  and 

might 
To  tell  us  ob  de  comin'  of  de  June." 

"Aren't  they  having  a  hallelujah  chorus  over 
in  that  meadow,  though!" 

Darkness  settled  over  the  earth.  The  willow 
trees,  skirting  the  road  for  a  little  distance,  lifted 
themselves  in  ghostly  tracery  against  the  starlit 
sky.  A  soft  breeze  stirred  their  branches  like 
the  breath  of  a  gentle  spirit  abiding  there.  They 
passed  a  cozy  farmhouse  nestled  down  among 
tall  trees.  Through  the  open  door  they  could 
see  a  little  white-robed  figure  being  carried  to 
bed  in  its  father's  arms,  while  the  mother  crooned 
a  lullaby  over  the  cradle  near. 


88  THE  STORY  OF  A 

For  a  long  time  they  drove  in  silence.  Mary 
knew  that  her  husband  was  in  deep  thought.  Of 
what  was  he  thinking?  The  pretty  home  scene 
in  the  farm  house  had  sent  him  into  a  reverie. 
He  went  back  five  or  six  years  to  a  bright  spring 
day.  He  was  sitting  alone  in  his  office  when  an 
old  man,  a  much  respected  farmer,  came  in 
slowly,  closed  the  door  behind  him  and  sat  down. 
The  doctor  who  knew  him  quite  well  saw  that 
he  was  troubled  and  asked  if  there  was  anything 
he  could  do  for  him.  The  old  man  leaned  his 
head  on  his  hand  but  did  not  reply.  It  seemed 
that  no  words  would  come  in  which  to  tell  his 
errand. 

Puzzled  and  sympathetic  the  doctor  sat  silent 
and  waited.  In  a  little  while  the  farmer  drew 
his  chair  very  near  to  that  of  the  doctor's  and 
said  in  a  low  voice,  "Doctor,  I'm  in  deep  trouble. 
I  come  to  you  because  you  are  one  of  my  best 
friends.  You  have  a  chance  to  prove  it  now 
such  as  you  never  had  before  in  all  the  years 
you've  been  our  doctor." 

"Tell  me  your  trouble  and  if  I  can  help  you, 
I  will  certainly  do  so." 

"It's  Mary.  She's  gone  wrong,  and  the  dis- 
grace will  kill  her  mother  if  she  finds  it  out." 

For  an  instant  the  doctor  did  not  speak ;  then 
he  asked,  "Are  you  sure  that  this  is  true  ?" 

"Yes.  She  came  to  me  last  night  and  nestled 
down  in  my  arms,  just  as  she's  done  every  night 
since  she  was  a  baby.  She  cried  like  her  heart 


DOCTOR'S  TELEPHONE  89 

would  break  and  then  she  said,  "Father,  I  must 
tell  you,  but  don't  tell  mother;  and  then  she  told 
me." 

The  old  man,  white  and  trembling,  looked  be- 
seechingly at  the  doctor. 

"Doctor,  this  must  not  be.  You  must  stop  it 
before  there  is  any  breath  of  scandal.  Oh,  for  a 
minute  last  night  I  wanted  to  kill  her." 

The  doctor's  face  was  stern.  "If  you  had 
killed  her  your  crime  would  have  been  far  less 
hellish  than  the  one  you  ask  me  to  commit." 

The  old  man  bowed  his  head  upon  his  hands. 
"You  will  not  help  me,"  he  groaned. 

The  doctor  rose  and  walked  the  floor.  "No, 
sir,"  he  said,  "I  will  not  stain  my  soul  with  mur- 
der for  you  or  any  other  man."  He  went  to  the 
window  and  stood  looking  out  upon  the  street 
below.  Presently  he  said,  "Mr.  Stirling,  will 
you  come  here  a  minute?"  The  old  man  rose 
and  went.  "Do  you  see  that  little  boy  skipping 
along  down  there?" 

"Yes,  I  see  him." 

"If  I  should  go  down  these  stairs,  seize  him 
and  dash  his  brains  out  against  that  building, 
what  would  you  think  of  me?" 

"I'd  think  you  were  a  devil." 

"Yet  he  would  have  a  chance  for  his  life.  He 
could  cry  out,  or  the  passersby  might  see  me  and 
interpose,  while  that  you  ask  me  to  destroy  is — " 

"There's  one  thing  I'll  do,"  said  the  old  man 
fiercely.  "I'll  kill  Ben  Merely  before  this  day 


90  THE  STORY  OF  A 

is  over!"  He  seized  his  hat  and  started  toward 
the  door. 

"Wait  a  minute !"  said  the  doctor  quickly. 
"It's  Ben  Merely  is  it?  I  know  him.  I  would 
not  have  thought  him  capable  of  this." 

"He's  been  coming  to  see  Mary  steady  for 
more  than  a  year  and  they  were  to  have  been 
married  three  months  ago  but  they  quarreled 
and  Mary  told  me  last  night  that  he  was  going 
away  the  last  of  this  week.  She  is  as  good  and 
sweet  a  girl  as  ever  lived.  She  never  kept  com- 
pany with  anybody  else  and  she  thought  the 
world  of  him.  The  damned  villain  has  got 
around  her  with  his  'honey  words  and  now  he 
proposes  to  leave  her  to  face  it  alone.  But  I'll 
kill  him  as  sure  as  the  sun  shines." 

"Sit  down,"  said  the  doctor,  laying  a  hand  on 
the  excited  man's  arm  and  forcing  him  into  a 
chair. 

"Let  me  tell  you  what  to  do.  Young  Morely's 
father  is  a  good  and  sensible  man  and  will  take 
the  right  view  of  it.  Go  straight  to  him  and  tell 
him  all  about  it  and  my  word  for  it,  he  will  see 
that  they  are  married  right  away.  He  is  able  to 
help  them  along  and  will  make  it  to  his  son's 
advantage  to  stay  here  rather  than  go  away.  He 
will  advise  him  right.  Have  no  fear."  The 
old  man  wrung  the  doctor's  hand  in  silence  and 
went  out. 

Several  days  later  the  doctor  was  looking  over 
the  papers  published  in  the  town  and  read  in 


DOCTOR'S  TELEPHONE  91 

the  list  of  marriage  licenses  the  names,  "Benja- 
min Merely,  aged  twenty-four,  Mary  Stirling, 
aged  eighteen." 

And  that  is  why  the  scene  in  the  farmhouse 
this  summer  night  had  sent  him  back  into  the 
past,  for  it  was  the  home  of  Benjamin  and  Mary 
Merely,  and  it  was  a  happy  home.  These  two 
lives  had  come  together  and  flowed  on  in  such 
harmony  and  helpfulness  and  rectitude  before 
the  world  that  the  stain  had  been  wiped  out. 
For  a  merciless  world  can  be  merciful  sometimes 
if  it  will  only  stop  to  remember  that  long  ago 
a  compassionate  Voice  said,  Go  and  sin  no  more. 

The  doctor's  reverie  came  to  an  end  for  he  had 
reached  his  destination  —  a  large  white  house 
standing  very  close  to  the  road. 

"Don't  talk  to  me  while  you  are  hitching  the 
horse,"  Mary  whispered,  "then  they  won't  know 
there  is  anyone  with  you.  I  don't  want  to  go  in 
—  I  want  to  see  the  moon  come  up." 

The  doctor  took  his  case  and  went  inside. 
Mary  sat  in  the  buggy  and  listened.  The  neigh- 
ing of  a  horse  far  down  the  road  and  the  barking 
of  a  dog  in  the  distance  were  the  only  sounds 
she  heard.  How  still  and  cool  it  was  after  the 
heat  of  the  day.  A  wandering  breeze  brought 
the  sweet  perfume  of  dewy  clover  fields.  She 
looked  across  the  intervening  knoll  to  the  east. 
The  tree  that  crowned  its  summit  stood  outlined 
against  the  brightening  sky.  She  was  sitting 
very  near  the  open  kitchen  window  and  now 


92  THE  STORY  OF  A 

saw  the  family  taking  their  places  around  the 
supper  table.  She  felt  a  little  uncomfortable  and 
as  if  she  were  trespassing  on  their  privacy.  But 
they  did  not  know  of  her  proximity  and  she 
could  only  sit  still  in  the  friendly  cover  of  the 
darkness.  How  good  the  ham  smelled  and  the 
potatoes  and  the  coffee. 

A  pretty  home-scene! 

The  father  at  the  head  of  the  table,  the  mother 
opposite  with  four  sturdy  boys  between  them, 
two  on  each  side.  The  father  looked  around  the 
board.  Stillness  settled  down  upon  them,  and 
then  he  bowed  his  head.  The  mother,  too,  bowed 
her  head.  The  boys  looked  down. 

"Our  heavenly  Father,  we  thank  Thee  for 
these  evening  blessings  — "  the  boys  looked  up 
and  four  forks  started  simultaneously  for  the 
meat  platter.  Ever^  fork  impaled  its  slice.  Mary 
gasped.  She  crammed  her  handkerchief  into  her 
mouth  to  shut  off  the  laughter  that  almost 
shouted  itself  before  she  could  stop  it. 

The  oldest  boy,  a  burly  fellow  of  fifteen,  looked 
astonished  and  then  sheepish.  The  other  three 
looked  defiance  at  him.  Each  sat  erect  in  per- 
fect silence  and  held  his  slice  to  the  platter  with 
a  firm  hand.  Mary,  almost  suffocating  with 
laughter  which  must  be  suppressed,  watched 
anxiously  for  the  denouement.  The  blessing 
went  on.  The  boys  evidently  knew  all  its  stages. 
As  it  advanced  there  was  a  tightening  of  the 
tension  and  at  the  welcome  "amen"  there  was  a 
grand  rake-off. 


DOCTOR'S  TELEPHONE  93 

At  the  commotion  of  the  sudden  swipe  the 
father  and  mother  looked  up  in  amazement. 

"Boys,  boys!  what  do  you  mean!"  exclaimed 
the  mother. 

"We  got  even  with  Mr.  Jake  that  time."  It 
was  the  second  boy  who  spoke. 

"We  got  ahead  of  him,"  said  the  third.  "He 
didn't  get  the  biggest  piece  this  time." 

"No,  /  got  it  myself,"  said  the  fourth. 

"Well,  I'm  scandalized,"  said  the  mother, 
looking  across  the  table  at  her  husband. 

"Well,  Mother,  I'll  tell  you  how  it  was,"  said 
the  second  boy.  "Last  night  I  looked  up  before 
Father  was  through  with  the  blessing  and  I  saw 
Jake  with  his  fork  in  the  biggest  piece  of  ham. 
You  and  Father  didn't  notice  and  so  he  was  it. 
I'll  bet  he's  been  at  it  a  good  while,  too." 

"I've  not,  either,"  said  the  accused. 

"I  told  Bob  and  Jim  about  it  and  we  con- 
cluded we'd  take  a  hand  in  it  tonight." 

"Well,  let  this  be  the  last  of  it,"  said  the  father 
with  mild  sternness.  "We'll  try  to  have  ham 
enough  for  all  of  you  without  sneaking  it.  If 
not,  Jacob  can  have  his  mother's  share  and 
mine." 

The  trio  of  boys  grinned  triumphantly  at  the 
discomfited  Jake,  then,  the  little  flurry  over,  all 
fell  to  eating  with  a  will. 

The  doctor's  voice  came  to  Mary  from  the 
room  of  the  patient. 

"You're  worth  a  dozen  dead  women  yet,"  it 


94  THE  STORY  OF  A 

said.  Then  a  high  pitched  woman's  voice,  "I'll 
tell  you  what  Mary  Ann  says  she  thinks  about 
it." 

"Has  she  been  here  today  ?"  If  Mary  Ann  had 
been  there  the  unfavorable  condition  of  the  pa- 
tient was  explained. 

"Yes,  she  just  went  away.  She  says  she  be- 
lieves you're  just  keepin'  Ellen  down  so  you  can 
get  a  big  bill  out  of  her." 

"The  doctor  was  fixing  up  powders  and  went 
placidly  on  till  he  got  through,  then  he  said 
"Mary  Ann  has  a  better  opinion  of  me  than  I 
thought  she  had.  It  takes  a  mighty  good  doctor 
to  do  that.  That's  a  very  old  song  but  there  are 
a  few  people  in  the  world  that  like  to  sing  it 
yet.  They  don't  know  that  there  isn't  a  doctor 
in  the  world  that  knows  enough  to  do  a  thing 
like  that  even  if  he  wanted  to.  Nature  would 
beat  him  every  time  if  they  gave  her  a  chance." 

Mary  heard  the  doctor  give  his  instructions 
and  then  he  came  out.  As  they  drove  off  she 
asked,  "You  came  pretty  near  catching  a  tartar, 
didn't  you?" 

"Oh,  that  one  is  all  right.  It's  her  sister 
that's  always  raising  the  devil." 

"Look !  isn't  she  lovely,  John  ?" 

"Isn't  who  lovely?"  asked  the  doctor,  looking 
back  at  the  house  in  some  surprise. 

"The  gentle  Shepherdess  of  Night,"  Mary  an- 
swered, her  eyes  on  the  moon  just  rising  over 
the  distant  treetops. 


DOCTOR'S  TELEPHONE  95 

"She's  getting  ready  to  'lead  her  flocks 
through  the  fields  of  blue.' " 

"How  very  poetical  we  are." 

"Only  an  echo  from  a  little  song  I  used  to  sing 
when  I  was  a  little  girl." 

"Get  up,  my  steeds,"  urged  the  doctor,  "we 
must  be  getting  back";  and  they  sped  swiftly 
homeward  through  the  soft  summer  night. 


g6  THE  STORY  OF  A 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

Ting-a-ling-ling-ling.  Ting-a-ling-ling-ling. 
Ting-a-ling-ling-ling. 

"Hello." 

"Is  this  the  doctor's  office?" 

"This  is  his  residence." 

"Pshaw!    I  wanted  his  office." 

"The  doctor  'phoned  me  about  ten  minutes  ago 
that  he  would  be  out  for  half  an  hour  and  asked 
me  to  answer  the  'phone  in  his  absence,"  Mary 
explained,  pleasantly. 

"Oh,"  said  the  voice,  somewhat  mollified,  I'll 
just  call  him  up  when  he  gets  back.  You  say 
he'll  be  back  in  half  an  hour  ?" 

"In  about  that  time." 

She  went  back  to  her  work,  which  happened 
to  be  upstairs  this  morning,  leaving  the  doors 
ajar  behind  her  that  she  might  hear  the  'phone. 
In  two  minutes  she  was  summoned  down. 

"What  is  it?" 

"Is  this  the  doctor's  office?" 

"No,  the  residence." 

"I  rang  for  the  office,  sorry  to  have  troubled 
you,  Mrs.  Blank,"  said  a  man's  voice. 

"We  are  connected  and  when  the  doctor  is 


DOCTOR'S  TELEPHONE  97 

out  he  expects  me  to  be  bell-boy,"  said  Mary, 
recognizing  the  voice. 

"I  see.  Will  you  please  tell  the  doctor 
when  he  comes  that  my  little  boy  is  sick  this 
morning  and  I  want  him  to  come  down.  Will 
he  be  back  soon?" 

"In  a  few  minutes,  I  think." 

She  sat  down  by  the  fire.  No  use  to  go  back 
upstairs  till  she  had  delivered  the  message.  This 
was  a  pleasing  contrast  to  the  other ;  Mr.  Owen 
had  volunteered  his  message  as  if  she  really  had 
a  right  to  know  and  deliver  it. 

Ting-a-ling-ling-ling.  Ting-a-ling-ling-ling. 
Mary  felt  reluctant  to  answer  it  —  it  sounded  so 
like  the  first.  And  it  was  not  the  house  call  this 
time,  but  two  rings  which  undeniably  meant  the 
office.  But  she  must  be  true  to  the  trust  reposed 
in  her.  She  went  to  the  'phone  and  softly  taking 
down  the  receiver,  listened;  perhaps  the  doctor 
had  got  back  and  would  answer  it  himself.  Fer- 
vently she  hoped  so.  But  there  was  only  silence 
at  her  ear,  and  the  ever  present  far-off  clack  of 
attenuated  voices.  The  silence  seemed  to  bristle. 
But  there  was  nothing  for  our  listener  to  do  but 
thrust  herself  into  it. 

"Hello,"  she  said,  very  gently. 

"O,  I've  got  you  again,  have  I!  I  knoiv  I 
rung  the  office  this  time,  for  I  looked  in  the  book 
to  see.  How  does  it  happen  I  get  the  house?" 
Ill  temper  was  manifest  in  every  word. 

"The  office  and  residence  are  connected,"  ex- 


98  THE  STORY  OF  A 

plained  Mary,  patiently,  "and  when  the  'phone 
rings  while  the  doctor  is  out,  he  asks  me  to  an- 
swer it  for  him." 

"I  don't  see  what  good  that  does." 

"It  doesn't  do  any  good  when  people  do  not 
care  to  leave  a  message,"  said  Mary  quietly. 

"Well,  I'd  ruther  deliver  my  message  to  him." 

"Certainly.  And  I  would  much  rather  you 
would.  I  can  at  least  say  about  what  time  he  ex- 
pects to  return." 

"You  said  awhile  ago  he'd  be  back  in  half  an 
hour  and  he's  not  back  yet." 

The  doctor's  wife  knew  that  she  was  held  re- 
sponsible for  the  delay.  She  smiled  and  glanced 
at  the  clock. 

"It  is  just  three  minutes  past  the  half  hour," 
she  said. 

"Well,  we're  in  an  awful  hurry  for  him.  I'll 
ring  agin  d'reckly." 

In  five  minutes  a  ring  came  again.  Surely  he 
would  be  there  now,  thought  his  wife,  but  she 
must  go  to  the  'phone.  She  listened.  Silence. 
Then  the  bell  pealed  sharply  forth  again.  She 
decided  to  change  her  tactics  and  put  the  other 
woman  on  the  defensive: 

"Well !"  she  said  impatiently,  "I'm  very  sorry 
to  have  to  answer  you  again  but  — " 

"Is  the  doctor  there?"  asked  a  sweet,  new 
voice.  "Pardon  me  for  interrupting  you,  but  I'm 
very  anxious." 

"He  will  be  at  the  office  in  just  a  few  minutes," 


DOCTOR'S  TELEPHONE  99 

Mary  answered,  very  gently  indeed.  She  real- 
ized now  that  one  cannot  "monkey"  with  the 
telephone. 

"Will  you  please  tell  him  to  come  at  once?" 
and  she  gave  the  street  and  number. 

"I  shall  send  him  at  once." 

"Thank  you,  good-bye." 

Before  Mary  could  seat  herself,  the  expected 
ring  came  in  earnest.  She  answered  it  meekly. 

"O,  good  gracious!  hain't  he  got  there  yet — ?" 

"Not  yet,"  said  Mary,  offering  nothing  further. 

"Well,  I've  jist  got  to  have  a  doctor.  I'll  git 
some  one  else."  The  threat  in  the  tone  made 
our  listener  smile. 

"I  think  it  would  be  a  good  thing  to  do,"  she 
said. 

A  pause.    Then  a  voice  with  softening  accents. 

"But  I'd  lots  ruther  have  Dr.  Blank."  No 
reply. 

"Are  ye  there  yit,  Mrs.  Blank?" 

"Yes.    I  am  here." 

"He'll  surely  be  back  in  a  little  bit  now,  won't 
he?" 

"I  think  so." 

"Won't  you  tell  'im  to  come  down  to  Sairey 
Tucker's  ?  I'm  her  sister  and  she's  bad  sick." 

"If  you  will  tell  me  where  you  live  I  will  send 
him." 

"He  knows  —  he's  been  here." 

"Very  well,"  and  she  rang  off. 

With  three  messages  hanging  over  her  head 
and  her  conscience,  she  could  not  go  upstairs  to 


ioo  THE  STORY  OF  A 

her  work.  She  must  dawdle  about  at  this  or  that 
'till  the  doctor  returned.  After  awhile  she  went 
to  the  'phone  and  called  the  office.  No  reply. 
How  she  longed  to  deliver  those  messages.  She 
dreaded  any  more  calls  from  the  waiting  ones. 
She  waited  a  few  minutes  then  rang  again. 
Thank  fortune!  Her  husband's  response  is  in 
her  ear,  the  messages  are  delivered  and  she  goes 
singing  up  the  stairs. 


Ting-a-ling-ling-ling-ling-ling. 

It  was  the  telephone  on  the  Doctor's  office  table 
and  a  ta.ll  young  fellow  was  ringing  it.  When  he 
got  the  number  and  asked,  "Is  this  you,  Fanny?" 
his  face  took  on  an  expression  good  to  see.  It 
was  Fanny,  and  he  settled  back  on  one  elbow  and 
asked,  "What  you  doing,  Fanny?" 

"Nothing,  just  now.    What  you  doing?" 

"Something  a  good  deal  better  than  that" 

"What  is  it?" 

"It's  talking  to  you" 

"Oh!" 

"Is  that  all  you  have  to  say  about  it?"  his  voice 
was  growing  tender. 

"Now,  Tom,  don't  go  to  making  love  to  me 
over  the  'phone." 

"How  can  I  help  it,  sweetheart?" 

"Where  are  you,  anyway?" 

"I'm  in  Dr.  Blank's  office." 

"Good  gracious!  is  he  there?  Ill  ring  off  — 
good-bye." 


DOCTOR'S  TELEPHONE  101 

"Wait !  Fanny  —  Fanny !" 

Fanny  was  waiting,  but  how  could  a  mere 
man  know  that.  He  rang  the  number  again 
with  vehemence." 

"Now,  Tom  Laurence,  I  want  you  to  quit  go- 
ing into  people's  offices  and  talking  to  me  this 
way." 

"Don't  you  think  my  way  is  nicer  than  yours 
—  huh?" 

The  circumflexes  were  irresistible." 

"Well,  tell  me,  Tom,  is  Dr.  Blank  there?" 

"No,  honey.  He's  away  in  the  back  room  busy 
with  another  patient.  He  can't  hear." 

"Another  patient  ?  Why,  Tom,  you're  not  sick, 
are  you  —  huh  ?" 

Fanny's  circumflexes  were  quite  as  circumflex- 
ible  as  Tom's  and  a  thrill  went  down  the  young 
giant's  spine. 

"No,  but  I  wish  I  was !" 

At  this  juncture  the  man  who  could  not  hear 
came  in  with  a  face  as  grave  and  non-committal 
as  the  Sphinx,  and  the  young  man  asked  through 
the  'phone  in  brisk,  cheery  tones,  "How  are  you 
this  morning?"  then  added  in  a  whisper,  "He's 
here  now." 

"Is  he?  Don't  talk  foolish  then.  Why,  I'm 
not  very  well." 

"What's  the  matter  ?" 

"I  burned  my  eye." 

"Burned  your  eye!  Confound  it!  How  did 
you  do  it?" 


102  THE  STORY  OF  A 

"With  a  curling  iron." 

"Throw  the  darned  thing  away."  He  turned 
from  the  telephone  and  said,  "Doctor,  a  young 
lady  has  burned  her  eye.  I  want  you  to  go  out 
there  right  away." 

"Where  shall  I  go?"  asked  the  grave  doctor. 

"I  guess  you  know,"  and  he  grinned. 

"All  right.    I'll  go  pretty  soon." 

"Don't  be  too  long.    Charge  it  to  me." 

"Fanny,"  he  said,  turning  back  to  the  'phone, 
but  Fanny  had  gone. 

And  soon  with  a  smile  that  had  memories  in 
it  the  doctor  took  his  case  and  left  the  office,  the 
young  man  at  his  side. 


Ting-a-ling-ling-ling-ling-ling. 

Mary,  from  the  living  room,  heard  her  hus- 
band's voice: 

"What  is  it?" 

"Yes." 

"They  won't?  O,  I  suppose  so  if  nobody  else 
will.  I'll  be  up  there  in  a  little  bit."  He  mut- 
tered something,  took  his  hat  and  went. 

When  he  came  back,  he  said,  "This  time  I  had 
to  help  the  dead." 

"To  help  the  dead !"  exclaimed  Mary. 

"Yes.  To  help  a  dead  woman  into  her  coffin. 
Everybody  was  afraid  to  touch  her." 

"Why?" 

"The  report  got  out  that  she  died  of  smallpox. 


DOCTOR'S  TELEPHONE  103 

I  only  saw  her  once  and  could  not  be  sure,  but 
to  be  on  the  safe  side  I  insisted  that  every  pre- 
caution be  taken  —  hence  the  scare." 

"But  how  could  you  lift  the  body  without 
help?" 

"Oh,  I  managed  it  somehow.  Just  the  same 
I'd  rather  minister  to  the  living,"  said  John,  to 
which  Mary  gave  vigorous  assent. 


"Old  Mr.  Vintner  has  just  been  'phoning  for 
you  in  a  most  imperious  way,"  announced  Mary 
as  the  doctor  came  in  at  the  door. 

"Yes,  old  skinflint !  The  maid  at  his  house  is 
very  sick  and  he's  so  afraid  they'll  have  to  take 
care  of  her  that  he's  determined  to  send  her 
home  when  she  can't  go.  She  has  pneumonia. 
She  lives  miles  out  in  the  country  — " 

Ting-a-ling-ling-ling-ling. 

"Yes." 

"Now  see  here,  Vintner.    Listen  to  me." 

"Yes,  I  know.  But  a  man's  got  to  be  human. 
I  tell  you  you  can't  send  her  out  in  this  cold. 
It's  outrageous  to  — " 

"Yes,  I  know  all  that,  too.  But  it  won't  be 
long  —  the  crisis  will  come  in  a  day  or  two  now 
and  — " 

"Damn  it !  Listen.  Now  stop  that  and  listen. 
Don't  you  attempt  it !  That  girl  will  be  to  drag 
off  if  you  do,  I  tell  you  — " 

"All  right  then.  That  sounds  more  like  it," 
and  he  hung  up  the  receiver. 


104  THE  STORY  OF  A 

Mary  looked  up.  "You  are  not  very  elegant  in 
your  discourse  at  times,  John,  but  I'm  glad  you 
beat,"  she  said. 


One  evening  the  doctor  came  in  and  walked 
hurriedly  into  the  dining-room.  As  he  was 
passing  the  telephone  it  rang  sharply  in  his  ear. 

"What  is  it?"  he  asked,  hastily  putting  up  the 
receiver. 

An  agitated  voice  said,  "Oh,  Doctor,  I've  just 
given  my  little  girl  a  teaspoonf ul  of  carbolic  acid ! 
Quick!  What  must  I  do!" 

"Give  her  some  whiskey  at  once;  then  a  tea- 
spoonful  of  mustard  in  hot  water.  I'll  be  right 
down,"  and  turning  he  went  swiftly  out.  When 
he  came  back  an  hour  or  two  later  he  said : 
"The  mother  got  the  wrong  bottle.  A  very  few 
minutes  would  have  done  the  work.  The  tele- 
phone saved  the  child's  life.  This  is  a  glorious 
age  in  which  we  are  living,  Mary." 

"And  to  think  that  some  little  children  play- 
ing with  tin  cans  with  a  string  stretched  be- 
tween them,  gave  to  the  world  its  first  telephone 
message." 

"Yes,  I've  heard  that.  It  may  or  may  not  be 
true.  Now  let's  have  supper." 

"Supper  awaits  Mr.  Non-Committal-Here-As- 
Ever,"  said  Mary  as  she  laid  her  arm  in  her 
husband's  and  they  went  toward  the  dining-room 
together. 


DOCTOR'S  TELEPHONE  105 

One  evening  the  doctor  and  Mary  sat  chatting 
with  a  neighbor  who  had  dropped  in. 

"I  want  to  use  your  'phone  a  minute,  please," 
said  a  voice. 

"Very  well,"  said  Mary,  and  Mrs.  X.  stepped 
in,  nodded  to  the  trio,  walked  to  the  telephone 
as  one  quite  accustomed,  and  rang. 

"I  want  Dr.  Brown's  office,"  she  said.  In  a 
minute  came  the  hello. 

"Is  this  Dr.  Brown?  My  little  boy  is  sick. 
I  want  you  to  come  out  to  see  him  this  evening. 
This  is  Mrs.  X.  Will  you  be  right  out  ? 

"All  right.    Good-bye."    And  she  departed. 

The  eyes  of  the  visitor  twinkled.  "Our 
neighbor  hath  need  of  two  great  blessings,"  she 
said,  "a  telephone  and  a  sense  of  humor."  Mary 
laughed  merrily,  "O,  we're  so  used  to  it  we  paid 
no  attention,"  she  said,  "but  I  suppose  it  did 
strike  you  as  rather  funny." 

"It's  a  heap  better  than  it  used  to  be  when  we 
didn't  have  telephones,"  said  the  doctor,  with 
the  hearty  laugh  that  had  helped  many  a  down- 
cast man  and  woman  to  look  on  the  bright  side. 

"When  I  yas  a  young  fellow  and  first  hung 
up  my  shingle  it  was  a  surprising  thing  —  the 
number  of  people  who  could  get  along  without 
me.  I  used  to  long  for  some  poor  fellow  to  put 
his  head  in  at  the  door  and  say  he  needed  me. 
At  last  one  dark,  rainy  night  came  the  quick, 
importunate  knock  of  someone  after  a  doctor. 
No  mistaking  that  knock.  I  opened  the  door  and 


io6  THE  STORY  OF  A 

an  elderly  woman  who  lived  near  me,  asked 
breathlessly,  'Mr.  Blank,  will  you  do  me  a  great 
favor?' 

"Certainly,"  I  answered  promptly. 

"My  husband  is  very  sick  and  I  came  to  see  if 
you  would  go  down  and  ask  Dr.  Smithson  to 
come  and  see  him."  I  swallowed  my  astonish- 
ment and  wrath,  put  on  my  rubber  coat  and 
went  for  the  doctor." 

"But  she  had  the  grace  to  come  in  next  day," 
said  Mary,  "and  tell  me  in  much  confusion  that 
she  was  greatly  embarrassed  and  ashamed.  It 
had  not  entered  her  head  until  that  morning 
that  my  husband  was  a  physician." 

"You  see,"  put  in  the  doctor,  "she  had  not 
taken  me  seriously;  in  fact  had  not  taken  me  at 
all." 

"Tell  us  about  the  old  man  who  had  you 
come  in  to  see  if  he  needed  a  doctor,"  said  Mary. 
The  doctor  smiled,  "That  was  when  I  didn't 
count,  too,"  he  said. 

"This  old  fellow  got  sick  one  day  and  wanted 
to  send  for  old  Dr.  Brown,  but  being  of  a 
thrifty  turn  of  mind  he  didn't  want  to  unless  he 
had  to.  He  knew  me  pretty  well  so  he  sent  for 
me  to  come  and  see  if  he  needed  a  doctor.  If  I 
thought  he  did  he'd  send  for  Brown.  I  chatted 
with  him  awhile  and  he  felt  better.  Next  day 
he  sent  word  to  me  again  that  he  wished  I'd  stop 
as  I  went  by  and  I  did.  This  kept  up  several 


DOCTOR'S  TELEPHONE  107 

days  and  he  got  better  and  better,  and  finally 
got  well  without  any  doctor,  as  he  said." 

The  visitor  laughed,  "You  doctors  could  un- 
fold many  a  tale  — " 

"If  the  telephone  would  permit,"  said  Mary, 
as  the  doctor  answered  the  old  summons,  took  his 
hat  and  left. 


"John,"  said  Mary  one  day,  "I  wish  you  would 
disconnect  the  house  from  the  office." 

"No!  You're  a  lot  of  help  to  me,"  protested 
the  doctor. 

"Well,  I  heard  someone  wrangling  with  cen- 
tral today  because  the  house  answered  when  it 
was  the  office  that  was  wanted."  She  laughed. 
"I  know  there  are  people  who  fancy  the  doctor's 
wife  enjoying  to  the  utmost  her  'sweet  privi- 
lege' of  answering  the  'phone  in  her  husband's 
absence.  Poor,  innocent  souls!  If  they  could 
only  know  the  deadly  weariness  of  it  all  —  but 
they  can't." 

"Why,  I  didn't  know  you  felt  quite  that  way 
about  it,  Mary.  I  suppose  I  can  disconnect  it 
but—" 

"But  you  don't  see  how  you  can  ?  Never  mind, 
then.  We'll  go  on,  and  some  sweet  day  you'll 
retire  from  practise.  Then  hully-gee!  won't  I 
be  free!  You  didn't  choose  the  right  sort  0f 
helpmeet,  John.  You  surely  could  have  selected 
one  who  would  enjoy  thrusting  herself  into  the 


io8  THE  STORY  OF  A 

reluctant  confidences  of  people  far  more  than  this 
one." 

"I'm  resigned  to  my  lot,"  laughed  John,  as  he 
kissed  his  wife  and  departed. 


Ting-a-ling-ling-ling.     Ting-a-ling-ling-ling. 

"Is  this  you,  Doctor  ?" 

"Yes." 

"What  am  I  ever  to  do  with  Jane  ?" 

"Keep  her  in  bed!  That's  what  to  do  with 
her." 

"Well,  I've  got  a  mighty  hard  job.  She's  feel- 
ing so  much  better,  she  just  will  get  up." 

"Keep  her  down  for  awhile  yet." 

"Well,  maybe  I  can  today,  but  I  won't  answer 
for  tomorrow.  She  says  she  feels  like  she  can 
jump  over  the  house." 

"She  can't,  though." 

Laughter.  "I'll  do  the  best  I  can,  Doctor,  but 
that  won't  be  much.  Keeping  her  in  bed  is  easier 
said  than  done,"  and  the  doctor  grinned  a  very 
ready  assent  as  he  hung  up  the  receiver. 


The  doctor's  family  was  seated  at  dinner. 
Ting-a-ling-ling-ling.  John  rose,  napkin  in  hand, 
and  went  while  the  clatter  of  knives  and  forks 
instantly  ceased. 

"Yes." 

"Why  didn't  you  do  as  I  told  you,  yesterday?" 


DOCTOR'S  TELEPHONE  109 

"I  told  you  what  to  do." 

"Well,  did  you  put  them  in  hot  water?" 

"Then  do  it.  Do  it  right  away.  Have  the 
water  hot,  now. 

He  came  back  and  went  on  with  his  dinner. 
Mary  admitted  to  herself  a  little  curiosity  as  to 
what  was  to  be  put  into  hot  water.  In  a  few 
minutes  the  dinner  was  finished  and  the  doctor 
was  gone. 

"I  bet  I  know  what  that  was,"  spoke  up  the 
small  boy. 

"What?"  asked  his  sister. 

"Diphtheria  clothes.  There's  a  family  in  town 
that's  got  the  diphtheria." 

Mary  was  relieved  —  not  that  there  should  be 
diphtheria  in  town,  but  that  the  answer  for 
which  her  mind  was  vaguely  groping  had  prob- 
ably been  found. 


Ting-a-ling-ling-ling.  When  the  doctor  had 
answered  the  summons  he  told  Mary  he  would 
have  to  go  down  to  a  little  house  at  the  edge  of 
town  about  a  mile  away.  When  he  came  back 
an  hour  later  he  sat  down  before  the  fire  with 
his  wife.  "I  remember  a  night  nineteen  years 
ago  when  I  was  called  to  that  house  —  a  little 
boy  was  born.  I  used  to  see  the  little  fellow  oc- 
casionally as  he  grew  up  and  pity  him  because  he 
had  no  show  at  all.  Tonight  I  saw  him,  a  great 
strapping  fellow  with  a  good  position  and  no 
bad  habits.  He'll  make  it  all  right  now." 


no  THE  STORY  OF  A 

The  doctor  paused  for  a  moment,  then  went 
on.  "They  didn't  pay  me  then.  I  remember  that. 
I  mentioned  it  tonight  in  the  young  fellow's 
presence." 

"John,  you  surely  didn't !" 

"Yes,  I  did.  His  mother  said  she  guessed 
Jake  could  pay  the  bill  himself." 

Mary  looked  at  this  husband  of  hers  with  a 
quizzical  smile. 

"Doesn't  it  strike  you  /that  you  are  going 
pretty  far  back  for  your  bill?" 

"There's  no  good  reason  why  this  boy  should 
not  pay  the  bill  if  he  wants  to." 

"No,  I  suppose  not.  But  I  don't  believe  he 
was  so  keen  to  get  into  the  world  as  all  that." 

"Well,  it  wouldn't  surprise  me  much  if  that 
young  fellow  should  come  into  my  office  one  of 
these  days  and  offer  to  settle  that  old  score  now 
that  he  knows  about  it." 

"Don't  you  take  it  if  he  does !"  and  Mary  left 
the  room  quite  unconscious  that  her  pronoun  was 
without  an  antecedent. 


Ting-a-ling-ling-ling-ling-ling. 
"Is  this  you,  Doctor?" 
"It  is." 

"I  expect  you  will  have  to  come  out  to  our 
house." 

^Who  is  it?" 

"This  is  Mary  Milton." 


DOCTOR'S  TELEPHONE  in 

"What's  the  matter  out  there,  Mrs.  Milton?" 

"Polly's  gone  and  hurt  her  shoulder.  I  guess 
she  run  it  into  the  ground." 

"Was  she  thrown  from  a  horse  or  a  vehicle?" 

"No." 

"Then  how  could  she  run  it  into  the  ground?" 

"Polly  Milton  can  run  everything  into  the 
ground !"  and  the  tone  was  exasperation  itself. 
"I  come  purty  near  havin'  to  send  for  you  yes- 
terday, but  I  managed  to  get  'er  out." 

"Out  of  what?" 

"The  clothes-wringer.  She  caught  her  stom- 
ach fast  between  the  rollers  and  nearly  took  a 
piece  out  of  it.  Nobody  wanted  her  to  turn  it 
but  she  would  do  it." 

"Well,  what  has  she  done  today?"  asked  the 
doctor,  getting  impatient. 

"I'm  plum  ashamed  to  tell  ye.  She  was  a- 
playin'  leap-frog." 

"Good !    I'd  like  to  play  it  myself  once  more." 

"I  thought  you'd  be  scandalized.  Some  of  the 
girls  come  over  to  see  'er  and  the  first  thing  I 
knowed  they  was  out  in  the  yard  playin'  leap- 
frog like  a  passel  o'  boys." 

"That's  good  for  'em,"  announced  the  doctor. 

"It  wasn't  very  good  for  Polly." 

"The  shoulder  is  probably  dislocated.  I'll  be 
out  in  a  little  while  and  we'll  soon  fix  it." 

"But  a  great  big  girl  nearly  fourteen  years  old 
oughtn't  — " 

"She's   all    right.     Don't   you   scold   her  too 


ii2  THE  STORY  OF  A 

much."  He  laughed  as  he  hung  up  the  receiver, 
then  ordered  his  horse  brought  round  and  in  a 
few  minutes  was  on  his  way  to  the  luckless 
maiden. 


Ting-a-ling-ling-ling  —  three  rings. 

"Is  this  Dr.  Blank?" 

"Yes." 

"Can  you  come  down  to  James  Curtis's  right 
away  ?" 

"Yes  — I  guess  so.    What's  the  matter?" 

James  Curtis  stated  the  matter  and  the  doctor 
put  up  the  receiver,  went  to  the  door  and  looked 
out. 

"Gee-mi-nee!  It's  as  dark  as  a  stack  of  black 
cats,"  he  said. 

In  a  little  while  he  was  off.  He  had  to  go 
horseback  and  as  the  horse  he  usually  rode  was 
lame  he  took  Billy  who  was  little  more  than  a 
colt.  Before  Mary  retired  she  went  to  the  door 
and  opened  it.  It  was  fearfully  dark  but  John 
had  said  it  was  only  a  few  miles.  His  faithful 
steed  could  find  the  way  if  he  could  not.  John 
always  got  through  somehow.  With  this  com- 
forting assurance  she  went  to  bed.  By  and  by 
the  'phone  was  ringing  and  she  was  springing 
up  and  hastening  to  answer  it.  To  the  hurried 
inquiry  she  replied,  "He  is  in  the  country." 

"How  soon  will  he  be  back?" 

She  looked  at  the  clock.  Nearly  three  hours 
since  he  left  home. 


DOCTOR'S  TELEPHONE  113 

"I  expected  him  before  this;  he  will  surely 
be  here  soon." 

A  message  was  left  for  him  to  come  at  once 
to  a  certain  street  and  number,  and  Mary  went 
back  to  bed.  But  she  could  not  sleep.  Soon 
she  was  at  the  'phone  again,  asking  central  to 
give  her  the  residence  of  James  Curtis. 

"Hello." 

"Is  this  Mr.  Curtis?" 

"Yes,  ma'am." 

"Is  Dr.  Blank  there?" 

"He  was,  but  he  started  home  about  an  hour 
ago.  He  ought  to  be  there  by  this  time." 

"Thank  you,"  said  Mary,  reassured.  He 
would  be  home  in  a  little  bit  then  and  she  went 
back  to  her  pillow. 

It  was  well  she  could  not  know  that 
her  husband  was  lost  in  the  woods.  The 
young  horse,  not  well  broken  to  the  roads, 
had  strayed  from  the  beaten  path.  The  doctor 
had  first  become  aware  of  it  when  his  hat  was 
brushed  off  by  low  branches.  He  dismounted, 
and  holding  the  bridle  on  one  arm,  got  down  on 
hands  and  knees  and  began  feeling  about  with 
both  hands  in  the  blackness.  It  seemed  a  fruitless 
search,  but  at  last  he  found  it  and  put  it  securely 
on  his  head.  He  did  not  remount,  but  tried  to 
find  his  way  back  into  the  path. 

After  awhile  the  colt  stopped  suddenly. 
He  urged  it  on.  Snap!  A  big  some- 
thing was  hurled  through  the  bushes  and 


1 14  THE  STORY  OF  A 

landed  at  the  doctor's  feet  with  a  heavy 
thud.  The  pommel  of  the  saddle  had 
caught  on  a  grape  vine  and  the  girths  had 
snapped  with  the  strain.  John  made  a  few  re- 
marks while  he  was  picking  it  up  and  a  few 
more  while  he  was  getting  it  on  the  back  of  the 
shying  colt.  But  he  finally  landed  it  and  man- 
aged to  get  it  half-fastened.  He  stood  still,  not 
knowing  which  way  to  turn.  A  dog  was  barking 
somewhere  —  he  would  go  in  that  direction. 
Still  keeping  the  bridle  over  his  arm  he  spread 
his  hands  before  him  and  slowly  moved  on. 

At  last  he  stopped.  He  seemed  to  be  getting 
no  nearer  to  the  dog.  All  at  once,  and  not  a 
great  way  off,  he  saw  a  fine  sight.  It  was  a 
lighted  doorway  with  the  figure  of  a  man  in  it. 
He  shouted  lustily, 

"Bring  a  lantern  out  here,  my  friend,  if  you 
please.  I  guess  I'm  lost." 

"All  right,"  the  man  shouted  back  and  in  a 
few  minutes  the  lantern  was  bobbing  along 
among  the  trees.  "Why,  Doctor!"  exclaimed 
James  Curtis,  "have  you  been  floundering  around 
all  this  time  in  these  woods  so  close  to  the  house  ? 
Why  didn't  you  holler  before  ?" 

"There  didn't  seem  to  be  anything  to  'holler' 
at.  Until  that  door  opened  I  thought  I  was  in 
the  middle  of  these  woods." 

"Your  wife  just  telephoned  to  know  if  you 
were  at  our  house  and  I  told  her  you  started 
home  an  hour  ago." 


DOCTOR'S  TELEPHONE  115 

"She'll  be  uneasy.  Put  me  into  the  main  road, 
will  you,  and  we'll  make  tracks  for  home." 

When  he  got  there  and  had  told  Mary  about 
it,  she  vowed  she  would  not  let  him  go  to  the 
country  again  when  the  night  was  so  pitch  dark, 
realizing  as  she  made  it,  the  futility  of  her  vow. 
Then  she  told  him  of  the  message  that  had 
come  in  his  absence  and  straightway  sent  him 
out  again  into  the  darkness. 


It  was  midnight.  The  doctor  was  snoring  so 
loudly  that  he  had  awakened  Mary.  Just  in 
time.  Ting-a-ling-ling-ling-ling.  By  hard  work 
she  got  him  awake.  He  floundered  out  and  along 
toward  the  little  tyrant.  He  reached  it. 

"Hello.    What  is  it?" 

"O!  I  got  the  wrong  number." 

"Damnation !" 

Slumber  again.  After  some  time  Mary  was 
awakened  by  her  husband's  voice  asking,  "What 
is  it?" 

"It's  time  for  George  to  take  his  medicine. 
We've  been  having  a  dispute  about  it.  I  said  it 
was  the  powder  he  was  to  take  at  two  o'clock 
and  he  said  it  was  the  medicine  in  the  bottle. 
Now  he's  mad  and  won't  take  either." 

"It  was  the  powder.  Tell  him  I  say  for  him 
to  take  it  now." 

The  answering  voice  sank  to  a  whisper,  but 
the  words  came  very  distinctly,  "I'm  afraid  he 


n6  THE  STORY  OF  A 

won't  do  it  —  he's  so  stubborn.  I  wish  it  was 
the  bottle  medicine  because  I  believe  he  would 
take  that." 

The  doctor  chuckled.  "Give  him  that,"  he 
said.  "It  won't  make  a  great  deal  of  difference 
in  this  case,  and  thinking  he  was  in  the  right  will 
do  him  more  good  than  the  powder.  Good  night 
and  report  in  the  morning." 

The  report  in  the  morning  was  that  George 
was  better! 


It  was  a  lovely  Sabbath  in  May.  The  doctor's 
wife  had  been  out  on  the  veranda,  looking  about 
her.  Everywhere  was  bloom  and  beauty,  fra- 
grance and  song.  Long  she  sat  in  silent  con- 
templation of  the  scene.  At  last  a  drowsiness 
stole  over  her  and  she  went  in  and  settled  her- 
self for  a  doze  in  the  big  easy  chair. 

Soon  a  tinkling  fell  upon  her  drowsy  ear. 

"Oh!  that  must  have  been  the  telephone.  I 
wonder  if  it  was  two  rings  or  three  —  I'd  better 
listen,"  she  said  with  a  sigh  as  she  pulled  herself 
up. 

"Is  this  Dr.  Blank?"  The  voice  was  faint  and 
indistinct. 

"Hello?"  said  Mary's  husband's  voice,  with 
the  rising  inflection. 

"Hello?"  A  more  pronounced  rise.  No  an- 
swer. 

"Hello !"  falling  inflection.  Here  Mary  inter- 
posed. 


DOCTOR'S  TELEPHONE  117 

"It's  some  lady,  Doctor,  I  heard  her." 

"Hello !"  with  a  fiercely  falling  inflection. 

"Dr.  Blank,"  said  the  faint  voice,  "I  forgot 
how  you  said  to  take  those  red  tablets."  Mary 
caught  all  the  sentence  though  only  the  last  three 
words  came  distinctly. 

"Yes?"  Her  husband's  *yes>  was  plainly  an 
interrogation  waiting  for  what  was  to  follow. 
She  understood.  He  had  heard  only  the  words 
"those  red  tablets."  Again  she  must  interpose. 

"Doctor,  she  says  she  forgot  how  you  told 
her  to  take  those  red  tablets." 

"O !  Why,  take  one  every  — " 

Mary  hung  up  the  receiver  and  went  back  to 
resume  her  interrupted  nap.  She  settled  back 
on  the  cushions  and  by  and  by  became  oblivious 
to  all  about  her.  Sweetly  she  slept  for  awhile 
then  started  up  rubbing  her  eyes.  She  went  hur- 
riedly to  the  'phone  and  put  the  receiver  to  her 
ear.  Silence. 

"Hello?"  she  said.  No  answer.  Smiling  a 
little  foolishly  she  went  back  to  her  chair.  "It 
isn't  surprising  that  I  dreamed  it."  For  a  few 
minutes  she  lay  looking  out  into  the  snow  flakes 
of  the  cherry  blooms.  Then  came  the  bell  — 
three  rings. 

"I  hope  it's  John  asking  me  to  drive  to  the 
country,"  she  thought  as  she  hurried  to  the 
'phone.  It  was  not.  It  was  a  woman's  voice 
asking, 

"How  much  of  that  gargle  must  I  use  at  a 
time?" 


n8  THE  STORY  OF  A 

"Oh  dear,"  thought  Mary,  "what  questions 
people  do  ask!  When  a  gargler  is  a-gargling, 
I  should  think  she  could  tell  how  much  to  use." 

The  doctor  evidently  thought  so  too  for  he 
answered  with  quick  impatience,  "Aw-enough 
to  gargle  with."  Then  he  added,  "If  it's  too 
strong  weaken  it  a  little." 

"How  much  water  must  I  put  in  it?"  Mary 
sighed  hopelessly  and  stayed  to  hear  no  more. 
Again  she  sank  back  in  her  chair  hoping  fer- 
vently that  no  more  foolish  questions  were  to 
rouse  her  from  it. 

When  she  was  dozing  off  the  bell  rang  so 
sharply  she  was  on  her  feet  and  at  the  'phone  al- 
most before  she  knew  it. 

"Doctor,  the  whole  outfit's  drunk  again  down 
here." 

A  woman's  voice  was  making  the  announce- 
ment. 

"Is  that  so?"  The  doctor's  voice  was  calm 
and  undisturbed. 

"Yes.  The  woman's  out  here  in  the  street  just 
jumpin'  up  and  down.  I  think  she's  about 
crazy." 

"She  hasn't  far  to  go." 

"Her  father's  drunk  too  and  so's  her  husband. 
Will  you  come  down?" 

"No,  I  don't  think  I'll  come  down  this  time." 

"Well,  then  will  you  send  an  officer?" 

"No-o— I  don't—" 


DOCTOR'S  TELEPHONE  119 

"I  wish  you  would." 

"Well,  I'll  try  to  send  someone." 


Mary  was  at  last  too  wide  awake  to  think  of 
dozing.  This  blot  on  the  sweet  May  Sabbath 
drove  away  all  thought  of  day  dreams.  Poor, 
miserable  human  creatures !  Poor,  long-suffering 
neighbors,  and  poor  John ! 

"All  sorts  of  people  appeal  to  him  in  all  sorts 
of  cases,  and  often  in  cases  which  do  not  come 
within  a  doctor's  province  at  all  —  he  is  guide, 
counsellor  and  friend,"  she  thought  as  she  put  on 
her  hat  and  went  out  for  a  walk. 


120  THE  STORY  OF  A 


CHAPTER  IX. 

One  Sunday  morning  at  the  beginning  of  Au- 
gust, Mary  stood  in  the  church  —  as  it  chanced, 
in  the  back  row  —  and  sang  with  her  next  neigh- 
bor from  the  same  hymn  book,  John  Newton's 
good  old  hymn, 

"Amazing  grace,  how  sweet  the  sound 
That  saved  a  wretch  like  me!" 

It  was  the  opening  hymn  and  they  were  in 
the  midst  of  the  third  verse. 

"Thro'  many  dangers,  toils  and  snares, 
I  have  already  come"; 

sang  Mary. 

She  did  not  dream  that  another  danger,  toil 
and  snare  was  approaching  her  at  that  instant 
from  the  rear  and  so  her  clear  soprano  rang  out 
unfaltering  on  the  next  line  — 

"   'Tis   grace   that   brought   me   safe   thus   far — " 

Then  a  hand  was  laid  upon  her  shoulder.  She 
turned  and  started  as  she  saw  her  husband's  face 
bending  to  her.  What  had  happened  at  home? 

"Wouldn't  you  like  to  go  to  the  country?" 
whispered  the  doctor. 

"Why  —  I  don't  like  to  leave  church  to  go," 
Mary  whispered  back. 

"The  carriage  is  right  here  at  the  door/' 


DOCTOR'S  TELEPHONE  121 

The  next  instant  she  had  taken  her  parasol 
from  behind  the  hymn-books  in  front  of  her, 
where  she  had  propped  it  a  few  minutes  before, 
with  some  misgiving  lest  it  fall  to  the  floor  dur- 
ing prayer,  and  just  as  the  congregation  sang 
the  last  line, 

"And  grace  will  lead  me  home," 
she  glided  from  the  church  by  the  side  of  the 
doctor,  thankful  that  in  the  bustle  of  sitting  down 
the  congregation  would  not  notice  her  departure. 
They  descended  the  steps,  entered  the  waiting 
carriage  and  off  they  sped. 

"I  feel  guilty,"  said  Mary,  a  little  dazed  over 
the  swift  transfer.  The  doctor  did  not  reply. 
In  another  minute  she  turned  to  him  with  energy. 

"John,  what  possessed  you  to  come  to  the 
church?" 

"Why,  I  couldn't  get  you  at  home.  I  drove 
around  there  and  Mollie  said  you  had  gone  to 
church  so  I  just  drove  there." 

"You  ought  to  have  gone  without  me." 

The  doctor  smiled.  "You  didn't  have  to  go. 
But  you  are  better  off  out  here  than  sitting  in  the 
church."  The  horse  switched  his  tail  over  the 
reins  and  the  doctor,  failing  in  his  effort  to  re- 
lease them,  gave  vent  to  a  vigorous  expletive. 

"Yes,  I  certainly  do  hear  some  things  out  here 
that  I  wouldn't  be  apt  to  hear  in  there,"  she  said. 
Then  the  reins  being  released  and  serenity  re- 
stored, they  went  on. 

"Isn't  that  a  pretty  sight  ?"  The  doctor  nodded 


122  THE  STORY  OF  A 

his  head  toward  two  little  girls  in  fresh  white 
dresses  who  stood  on  the  side-walk  anxiously 
watching  his  approach.  There  was  earnest  in- 
terest in  the  blue  eyes  and  the  black.  Near  the 
little  girls  stood  a  white-headed  toddler  of  about 
two  years  and  by  his  side  a  boy  seven  or  eight 
years  old. 

"Mr.  Blank,"  called  the  blue-eyed  little  girl  — 
all  men  with  or  without  titles  are  Mr.  to  little 
folks ;  —  the  doctor  stopped  his  horse. 
"Well,  what  is  it,  Mamie?" 
"I  want  you  to  bring  my  mamma  a  baby." 
"You  do!" 

"Yes,  sir,  a  boy  baby.  Mamie  and  me  wants 
a  little  brother,"  chimed'  in  the  little  black-eyed 
girl. 

The  boy  looked  down  at  the  toddler  beside  him 
and  then  at  the  two  little  girls  with  weary  con- 
tempt. "You  don't  know  what  you're  a-gittin' 
into,"  he  said.  "If  this  one  hadn't  never  learned 
to  walk  it  wouldn't  be  so  bad,  but  he  jist  learns 
everything  and  he  jist  bothers  me  all  the  time." 
The  doctor  and  Mary  laughed  with  great  en- 
joyment. "Now !  what'd  I  tell  you !"  said  the 
boy,  as  he  ran  to  pick  up  the  toddler  who  at 
that  instant  fell  off  the  sidewalk.  He  gave  him  a 
vigorous  shake  as  he  set  him  on  his  feet  and  a 
roar  went  up.  "Don't  you  git  any  baby  at  your 
house,"  he  said,  warningly. 

"Yes,  bring  us  one,  Mr.  Blank,  please  do,  a 
little  bit  of  a  one,"  said  Mamie,  and  the  black 
eyes  pleaded  too. 


DOCTOR'S  TELEPHONE  123 

"Well,  I'll  tell  you.  If  you'll  be  good  and  do 
whatever  your  mamma  tells  you,  maybe  I  will 
find  a  baby  one  of  these  days  and  if  I  do  I'll 
bring  it  to  your  house."  He  drove  on. 

If  they  knew  what  I  know  their  little  hearts 
would  almost  burst  for  joy.  Their  father  is  just 
as  anxious  for  a  boy  as  they  are,  too,"  he  added. 

They  were  soon  out  in  the  open  country.  It 
was  one  of  those  lovely  days  which  sometimes 
come  at  this  season  of  the  year  which  seem  to 
belong  to  early  autumn ;  neither  too  warm  nor 
too  cool  for  comfort.  A  soft  haze  lay  upon 
the  landscape  and  over  all  the  Sunday  calm. 
They  turned  into  a  broad,  dusty  road.  Mary's 
eyes  wandered  across  the  meadow  on  the  right 
with  its  background  of  woods  in  the  distance. 
A  solitary  cow  stood  contentedly  in  the  shade  of 
a  solitary  tree,  while  far  above  a  vulture  sailed 
on  slumbrous  wings. 

The  old  rail  fence  and  the  blackberry 
briars  hugging  it  here  and  there  in  clumps ; 
small  clusters  of  the  golden-rod,  even  now 
a  pale  yellow,  which  by  and  by  would 
glorify  all  the  country  lanes;  the  hazel  bushes 
laden  with  their  delightful  promise  for  the  au- 
tumn—  Mary  noted  them  all.  They  passed  un- 
challenged those  wayside  sentinels,  the  tall  mul- 
lein-stalks. The  Venus  Looking-Glass  nodded  its 
blue  head  ever  so  gently  as  the  brown  eyes  fell 
upon  it  and  then  they  went  a  little  way  ahead 
to  where  the  blossoms  of  the  elderberry  were 


124  THE  STORY  OF  A 

turning  into  tiny  globules  of  green.  Mary  asked 
the  doctor  if  he  thought  the  corn  in  the  field 
would  ever  straighten  up  again.  A  wind  storm 
had  passed  over  it  and  many  of  the  large  stalks 
were  almost  flat  upon  the  earth.  The  doctor  an- 
swered cheerfully  that  the  sun  would  pull  it  up 
again  if  Aesop  wasn't  a  fraud. 

After  a  while  they  stopped  at  a  big  gate  open- 
ing into  a  field. 

"Hold  the  reins,  please,  till  I  see  if  I  can  get 
the  combination  of  that  gate,"  and  the  doctor 
got  out.  Mary  took  a  rein  in  each  hand  as  he 
opened  the  gate.  She  clucked  to  the  horse  and 
he  started. 

"Whoa!  John,  come  and  get  my  mite.  It's 
about  to  slip  out  of  my  glove."  The  doctor 
glanced  at  the  coin  Mary  deposited  in  his  palm. 

"They  didn't  lose  much." 

"The  universal  collection  coin,  my  dear.  Now 
open  the  gate  wider  and  I'll  drive  through." 

"Don't  hit  the  gate  post!"  She  looked  at 
him  with  disdain.  "I  never  drove  through  a 
gate  in  my  life  that  somebody  didn't  yell,  'Don't 
hit  the  gate  post'  and  yet  I  never  have  hit  a  gate 
post." 

At  this  retort  the  doctor  had  much  ado  to  get 
the  gate  fastened  and  pull  himself  into  the  buggy, 
and  his  laughter  had  hardly  subsided  before  they 
drew  up  to  the  large  farm  house  in  the  field. 
Mary  did  not  go  in.  In  about  twenty  minutes 
the  doctor  came  out.  The  door-step  turned,  al- 


DOCTOR'S  TELEPHONE  125 

most  causing  him  to  fall.  "Here's  a  fine  chance 
for  a  broken  bone  and  some  of  you  will  get  it  if 
you  don't  fix  this  step,"  he  growled. 

"I'll  fix  that  tomorrow,"  said  the  farmer,  "but 
I  should  think  you'd  be  the  last  one  to  complain 
about  it,  Doctor." 

"Some  people  seem  to  think  that  doctors  and 
their  wives  are  filled  with  mercenary  malice," 
said  Mary  laughing.  "Yesterday  I  was  walking 
along  with  a  lady  when  I  stopped  to  remove  a 
banana  skin  from  the  sidewalk.  She  said  she 
would  think  a  doctor's  wife  wouldn't  take  the 
trouble  to  remove  banana  skins  from  the  walk." 

"I  believe  in  preventive  medicine,"  said  the 
doctor,  "and  mending  broken  steps  and  removing 
banana  peeling  belong  to  it." 

"Do  you  think  it  will  ever  be  an  established 
fact  ?"  asked  Mary  as  they  drove  away. 

"I  do  indeed.  It  will  be  the  medicine  of  the 
future." 

"I'm  glad  I'm  not  a  woman  of  the  future,  then, 
for  I  really  don't  want  to  starve  to  death." 

"I  have  to  visit  a  patient  a  few  miles 
farther  on,"  said  the  doctor  when  they 
came  out  on  the  highway.  Soon  they  were 
driving  across  a  knoll  and  fields  of  tas- 
seled  corn  lay  before  them.  A  little  far- 
ther and  they  entered  the  woods.  "Ah,  Mary, 
I  would  not  worry  about  leaving  church.  The 
groves  were  God's  first  temples."  After  a  little 
he  said,  "I  was  trying  to  think  what  Beecher  said 


126  THE  STORY  OF  A 

about  trees  —  it  was  something  like  this :  'With- 
out doubt  better  trees  there  might  be  than  even 
the  most  noble  and  beautiful  now.  Perhaps  God 
has  in  his  thoughts  much  better  ones  than  he  has 
ever  planted  on  this  globe.  They  are  reserved 
for  the  glorious  land.' " 

"See  this,  John !"  and  Mary  pointed  to  a  group 
of  trees  they  were  passing,  "a  ring  cut  around 
every  one  of  them !" 

"Yes,  the  fool's  idea  of  things  is  to  go  out 
and  kill  a  tree  by  the  roadside  —  often  standing 
where  it  can't  possibly  do  any  harm.  How  often 
in  my  drives  I  have  seen  this  and  it  always  makes 
me  mad." 

They  drove  for  a  while  in  silence,  then  Mary 
said,  "Nature  seems  partial  to  gold."  She  had 
been  noting  the  Spanish  needles  and  Black-eyed 
Susans  which  starred  the  dusty  roadside  and 
filled  the  field  on  the  left  with  purest  yellow, 
while  golden-rod  and  wild  sunflowers  bloomed 
profusely  on  all  sides. 

"Yes,  that  seems  to  be  the  prevailing  color  in 
the  wild-flowers  of  this  region." 

"That  reminds  me  of  something.  'A  few  months 
ago  a  little  girl  said  to  me,  'Mrs.  Blank,  don't 
you  think  red  is  God's  favorite  color?'  'Why, 
dear,  I  don't  think  I  ever  thought  about  it,'  I 
answered,  quite  surprised.  'Well,  I  think  he 
likes  red  better  than  any  color.'  'Why  I  don't 
know,  but  when  we  look  around  and  see  the  grass 
and  the  trees  and  the  vines  growing  everywhere, 


DOCTOR'S  TELEPHONE  127 

it  seems  to  me  that  green  might  be  his  favorite 
color.  But  what  makes  you  think  it  is  red?' 
'Because  he  put  blood  into  everybody  in  the 
world.'  Quite  staggered  by  this  reasoning  and 
making  an  effort  to  keep  from  smiling,  I  said, 
'But  we  can't  see  that.  If  red  is  his  favorite 
color  why  should  he  put  it  where  it  can't  be 
seen?'  The  child  looked  at  me  in  amazement. 
'God  can  see  it.  He  can  see  clear  through  any- 
body.' The  little  reasoner  had  vanquished  me 
and  I  fled  the  field." 

A  little  way  ahead  lay  a  large  snake  stretched 
out  across  the  road. 

"The  boy  that  put  it  there  couldn't  help  it," 
said  the  doctor,  "it's  born  in  him.  When  I  was 
a  lad  every  snake  I  killed  was  promptly  brought 
to  the  road  and  stretched  across  it  to  scare  the 
passers-by." 

"And  yet  I  don't  suppose  it  ever  did  scare 
anyone." 

"Occasionally  a  girl  or  woman  uttered  a 
shriek  and  I  felt  repaid.  I  remember  one  big 
girl  walking  along  barefooted ;  before  she  knew 
it  she  had  set  her  foot  on  the  cold,  slimy  thing. 
The  way  she  yelled  and  made  the  dust  fly  filled 
my  soul  with  a  frenzy  of  delight.  I  rolled  over 
and  over  in  the  weeds  by  the  roadside  and  yelled 
too." 

A  sudden  turn  in  the  road  brought  the  doctor 
and  his  wife  face  to  face  with  a  young  man  and 
his  sweetheart.  Mary  knew  at  a  glance  they 


128  THE  STORY  OF  A 

were  sweethearts.  They  were  emerging  into  the 
highway  from  a  grassy  woods-road  which  led 
down  to  a  little  church.  The  young  man  was 
leading  two  saddled  horses. 

"Why  do  you  suppose  they  walk  instead  of 
riding?"  asked  the  doctor. 

"Hush !  they'll  hear  you.  Isn't  she  pretty  ?" 
The  young  man  assisted  his  companion  to  her 
seat  in  the  saddle.  She  started  off  in  one  direc- 
tion, while  he  sprang  on  his  horse  and  galloped 
away  in  the  other.  "Here !  you  rascal,"  the  doc- 
tor called,  as  he  passed,  "why  didn't  you  go  all 
the  way  with  her?" 

"I'll  go  back  tonight,"  the  young  fellow  called 
back,  dashing  on  at  so  mad  a  pace  that  the  broad 
rim  of  his  hat  stood  straight  up. 
"Do  you  know  him  ?" 
"I  know  them  both." 

After  another  mile  our  travelers  went  down 
one  long  hill  and  up  another  and  stopped  at  a 
house  on  the  hilltop  where  lived  the  patient. 
Here,  too,  Mary  chose  to  remain  in  the  buggy. 
A  wagon  had  stopped  before  a  big  gate  opening 
into  the  barnyard  and  an  old  man  in  it  was  evi- 
dently waiting  for  someone.  He  looked  at  Mary 
and  she  looked  at  him ;  but  he  did  not  speak  and 
just  as  she  was  about  to  say  good  morning,  he 
turned  and  looked  in  another  direction.  When 
he  finally  looked  around  it  seemed  to  Mary  it 
would  be  a  little  awkward  to  bid  him  good  morn- 
ing now,  so  she  tried  to  think  what  to  say  in- 


DOCTOR'S  TELEPHONE  129 

stead,  by  way  of  friendly  greeting;  it  would  be 
a  little  embarrassing  to  sit  facing  a  human  being 
for  some  time  with  not  a  word  to  break  the  con- 
straint. But  the  more  she  cudgeled  her  brain 
the  farther  away  flew  every  idea.  She  might  ask 
him  if  he  thought  we  were  going  to  have  a  good 
corn  crop,  but  it  was  so  evident  that  we  were, 
since  the  crop  was  already  made  that  that  remark 
seemed  inane.  The  silence  was  beginning  to  be 
oppressive.  Her  eye  wandered  over  the  yard 
and  she  noticed  some  peach  trees  near  the  house 
with  some  of  the  delicious  fruit  hanging  from 
the  boughs.  She  remarked  pleasantly,  "I  see 
they  have  some  peaches  here."  Her  companion 
looked  at  her  and  said,  "Hey?" 

"I  said,  'I  see  they  have  some  peaches  here,' " 
she  rejoined,  raising  her  voice.  He  curved  one 
hand  around  his  ear  and  said  again,  "Hey?" 

"O,  good  gracious,"  thought  Mary,  "I  wish  I 
had  let  him  alone." 

She  shrieked  this  time,  "I  only  said,  7  see  they 
have  some  peaches  here!  " 

When  the  old  man  said,  "I  didn't  hear  ye  yet, 
mum,"  she  leaned  back  in  the  carriage,  fanning 
herself  vigorously,  and  gave  it  up.  She  had 
screamed  as  loud  as  she  intended  to  scream  over 
so  trivial  a  matter.  Looking  toward  the  house 
she  saw  a  tall  young  girl  coming  down  the  walk 
with  something  in  her  hand.  She  came  timidly 
through  the  little  gate  and  handed  a  plate  of 
peaches  up  to  the  lady  in  the  carriage,  looking 


i3o  THE  STORY  OF  A 

somewhat  frightened  as  she  did  so.  "I  didn't 
hear  ye,"  she  explained,  "but  Jim  came  in  and 
said  you  was  a-wantin'  some  peaches." 

Mary's  face  was  a  study.  Jim  and  his  sister 
had  not  seen  the  deaf  old  man  in  the  wagon,  as 
a  low-branched  pine  stood  between  the  wagon 
and  the  house.  And  this  was  the  way  her  polite- 
ness was  interpreted ! 

The  comicality  of  the  situation  was  too  much. 
She  laughed  merrily  and  explained  things  to  the 
tall  girl  who  seemed  much  relieved. 

"I  ought  to  'a'  brought  a  knife,  but  I  was  in 
such  a  hurry  I  forgot  it."  Eating  peaches  with 
the  fuzz  on  was  quite  too  much  for  Mary  so  she 
said,  "Thank  you,  but  we'll  be  starting  home  in 
a  moment,  I'll  not  have  time  to  eat  them.  But 
I  am  very  thirsty,  might  I  have  a  glass  of 
water?"  The  girl  went  up  the  walk  and  disap- 
peared into  the  house.  Mary  did  so  want  her 
to  come  out  and  draw  the  water,  dripping  and 
cool,  from  the  old  well  yonder.  She  came  out, 
went  to  the  well,  stooped  and  filled  the  glass  from 
the  bucket  sitting  inside  the  curb.  Mary  sighed. 
The  tall  girl  took  a  step.  Then,  to  the  watcher's 
delight,  she  threw  the  water  out,  pulled  the  bucket 
up  and  emptied  it  into  the  trough,  and  one  end 
of  the  creaking  well-sweep  started  downward 
while  the  other  started  upward.  The  bucket  was 
on  its'  way  to  the  cool  depths  and  Mary  grew 
thirstier  every  second. 

The  doctor  appeared  at  the  door  and  looked 


DOCTOR'S  TELEPHONE  131 

out.  Then  he  came,  case  in  hand,  with  swift 
strides  down  the  walk.  The  gate  banged  behind 
him  and  he  untied  the  horse  in  hot  haste,  looking 
savagely  at  his  wife  as  he  did  so. 

"I  suppose  you've  asked  that  girl  to  bring  you 
a  drink." 

"Yes,  I  did.     I'm  very  thirsty." 

"You  ought  to  have  more  sense  than  to  want 
to  drink  where  people  have  typhoid  fever." 

The  girl  started  down  the  walk  with  the  brim- 
ming glass.  The  doctor  climbed  into  the  buggy 
and  turned  around. 

"For  pity's  sake!  what  will  she  think?" 

A  vigorous  cut  from  the  whip  and  the  horse 
dashed  off  down  the  road.  Mary  cast  a  longing, 
lingering  look  behind.  The  girl  stood  looking 
after  them  with  open  mouth. 

"That  girl  has  had  enough  today  to  astonish 
her  out  of  a  year's  growth,"  thought  Mary  as 
the  buggy  bumped  against  a  projecting  plank  and 
tore  over  the  bridge  at  the  foot  of  the  hill. 

"John,  one  of  the  rules  of  good  driving  is 
never  to  drive  fast  down  hill."  Her  spouse  an- 
swered never  a  word. 

After  a  little  he  said,  "I  didn't  mean  to  be 
cross,  Mary,  but  I  didn't  want  you  to  drink 
there." 

"You  should  have  warned  me  beforehand, 
then,"  she  said  chillingly. 

"I  couldn't  sit  in  the  buggy  and  divine  there 
was  typhoid  fever  there,"  she  continued.  "A  wo- 


I32  THE  STORY  OF  A 

man's  intuitions  are  safe  guides'  but  she  has  to 
have  something  to  go  on  before  she  can  have  in- 
tuitions." 

"Hadn't  you  better  put  your  ulster  on,  dear?" 
inquired  the  doctor  in  such  meaning  tones,  that 
Mary  turned  quickly  and  looked  off  across  the 
fields.  A  Black-eyed  Susan  by  the  roadside 
caught  the  smile  in  her  eyes  and  nodded  its  yel- 
low head  and  smiled  mischievously  back  at  her. 
It  was  a  feminine  flower  and  they  understood 
each  other. 

When  they  had  driven  three  or  four  miles 
Mary  asked  the  doctor  if  there  was  any  typhoid 
fever  in  the  house  they  were  approaching. 

"How  do  I  know?" 

"I  thought  you  might  be  able  to  divine  whether 
there  is  or  not." 

"We'll  suppose  there  isn't.  We'll  stop  and  get 
a  drink,"  he  answered  indulgently.  They  stopped, 
Mary  took  the  reins  and  the  doctor  went  to  re- 
connoiter. 

"Nobody  at  home  and  not  a  vessel  of  any 
bind  in  sight,"  he  announced  coming  back.  Of 
course  her  thirst  was  now  raging. 

"Maybe  there's  a  gourd  hanging  inside  the 
curb.  If  there  is  do  break  it  loose  and  bring  it 
to  me  heaping  full." 

"I  looked  inside  the  curb  —  nothing  there." 

Here  Mary's  anxious  eyes  saw  a  glass  fruit 
jar  turned  upside  down  on  a  fence  paling.  Bless- 
ings on  the  woman  who  put  it  there !  The  doctor 


DOCTOR'S  TELEPHONE  133 

filled    and    brought   it   to   her.     After    a   long 
draught  she  uttered  a  sigh  of  rich  content. 
"Now,"  she  said,  "I'm  ready  to  go  home." 


i34  THE  STORY  OF  A 


CHAPTER  X. 

Ting-a-ling-ling-ling.        Ting-a-ling-ling-ling. 

"Hello." 

"Is  this  the  doctor?" 

"It's  one  of  'em,"  said  John,  recognizing  the 
voice  of  a  patient. 

"Well,  doctor,  the  other  side  of  my  throat  is 
sore  now!" 

"Is  it  ?  Well,  I  told  your  husband  it  might  be." 

"Why?" 

"Why?  Well,  because  I'm  running  short  of 
coffee  and  a  few  things  like  that." 

A  little  laugh.  "/  don't  want  to  keep  you  in 
coffee  and  things  like  that." 

"Nobody  does.  But  the  poor  doctors  have  to 
live  and  you  must  contribute  your  share." 
Laughter. 

"All  right,  Doctor,  but  I  don't  want  to  have  to 
contribute  too  much." 

"Don't  be  alarmed  about  your  throat,  Mrs. 
Channing.  When  I  looked  at  it  yesterday,  I 
saw  indications  that  the  other  side  might  be  af- 
fected, but  it  will  soon  be  well." 

"That  sounds  better.  Thank  you,  good-bye." 
When  he  came  back  to  the  table  his  wife,  said, 
"John,  I  shouldn't  think  you'd  say  things  like 
that  to  people." 


DOCTOR'S  TELEPHONE  135 

"Why  ?" 

"Well,  they  might  believe  'em."  The  doctor 
laughed,  swallowed  his  cup  of  tea  and  departed. 

Ting-a-ling-ling-ling.     Three  times. 

"Hello." 

"Is  Dr.  Blank  at  home?" 

"He  has  just  this  minute  left  for  the  office. 
'Phone  him  there  in  two  minutes  and  you  will 
get  him." 

Mary  went  back,  took  two  bites  and  when 
the  third  was  suspended  on  her  fork  the  'phone 
rang. 

"Somebody  else,"  she  thought,  laying  the  fork 
down  and  rising. 

"Oh !  I've  got  you  again,  Mrs.  Blank.  You 
said  to  ring  in  two  minutes  and  I'd  get  the 
doctor." 

"But  you  didn't  wait  one  minute." 

"It  seemed  lots  longer.     All  right,  I'll  wait." 

"People  expect  a  doctor  to  get  there  in  less 
than  no  time,"  thought  Mary.  "John  walks  so 
fast  I  felt  safe  in  telling  her  to  'phone  him  in 
two  minutes." 

Buzz-z-z-z-z,  as  if  all  the  machinery  of  the  uni- 
verse were  let  loose  in  her  ear.  She  had  held 
the  receiver  till  her  husband  could  reach  the  of- 
fice so  she  might  feel  assured  the  anxious  one 
had  found  him.  Yes,  that  was  his  voice. 

"Dr.  Blank,  you're  president  of  the  board  of 
health,  ain't  ye?" 

"Yes  —  guess  so." 


136  THE  STORY  OF  A 

"This  is  Jack  Johnson's.  There's  a  dead  horse 
down  here  by  our  house  an'  I  want  you  to  come 
down  here  an'  bury  it."  Our  listener  heard  the 
woman's  teeth  snap  together. 

"All  right.  I'll  get  a  spade  and  come  right 
along." 

"What  do  they  take  my  husband  for,"  thought 
Mary. 

Buzz-z-z-z  at  her  ear  again.  Now  it  was  her 
husband's  voice  saying, 

"Give  me  number  forty-five." 

In  a  minute  a  gentlemanly  voice  said,  "Hello." 

"Is  this  you,  Warner?" 

"Yes." 

"There's  a  dead  horse  down  by  Jack  John- 
son's. Go  down  there  and  bury  it." 

"All  right,  Doc.     I'll  be  right  along." 

A  burst  of  laughter  from  the  doctor  was 
echoed  by  Warner.  Mary  knew  that  Warner 
was  the  newly  elected  alderman  and  she  smiled 
as  she  pictured  the  new  officer  leaving  his  ele- 
gant home  and  going  down  to  perform  the  obse- 
quies. Nevertheless  her  heart  leaned  toward 
Jack  Johnson's  wife,  for  it  was  plain  to  be  seen 
that  neither  the  new  president  of  the  board  of 
health  nor  the  new  alderman  had  a  realizing 
sense  of  his  duties. 

Half  an  hour  later  three  rings  sounded. 

"Is  this  Dr.  Blank's  office?" 

"No,  his  residence." 

"Well,  I  see  by  the  paper  he's  on  the  board  of 


DOCTOR'S  TELEPHONE  137 

health  and  we  want  this  manure-pile  taken  away 
from  here." 

"Please  'phone  your  complaints  to  the  doctor," 
said  Mary,  calmly  replacing  the  receiver  and 
shutting  off  the  flood. 

"John's  existence  will  be  made  miserable  by 
this  new  honor  thrust  upon  him,"  she  thought. 

When  he  came  home  that  evening  she  asked 
if  the  second  complainant  had  found  him. 

"Yes,  she  found  me  all  right." 

"They're  going  to  make  day  hideous  and  night 
lamented,  aren't  they?" 

"O,  no.  I'll  just  have  a  little  fun  and  then 
send  someone  to  look  after  their  complaints." 

Just  before  bed-time  the  doctor  was  called  to 
the  'phone. 

"Doctor,  this  is  the  nurse  at  the  hotel.  What 
had  I  better  do  with  this  Polish  girl's  hand?" 

"Doesn't  it  look  all  right?" 

"Yes,  it's  doing  fine." 

"Just  let  it  alone,  then." 

"She  won't  be  satisfied.  She  thinks  we  ought 
to  be  doing  something  to  it.  And  I've  got  to 
do  something  or  she'll  go  off  upstairs  and  wash 
it  in  dirty  water." 

"Tell  her  not  to  do  anything  of  the  kind." 

"She  can't  understand  a  word  I  say  and  I 
don't  know  what  to  do  with  her.  She's  had  the 
bandage  off  once  already." 

"The  devil  she  has !  Well,  then  you'll  have  to 
unwrap  it,  I  guess,  and  pretend  to  do  something. 
But  it  would  be  better  to  let  it  alone." 


138  THE  STORY  OF  A 

"I  know  that." 

"How  is  the  other  patient  tonight?" 

"Doing  fine,  Doctor." 

"Good !     Good-bye." 


There  was  a  spacious,  airy,  upper  chamber 
opening  out  on  a  balcony  at  the  doctor's  house 
which  the  doctor  and  Mary  claimed  for  theirs. 
Not  now ;  O  no !  But  in  the  beautiful  golden 
sometime  when  the  telephone  ceased  from  troub- 
ling and  the  weary  ones  might  rest.  This  meant 
when  the  doctor  should  retire  from  night  prac- 
tice. Until  that  happy  time  they  occupied  a 
smaller  room  on  the  first  floor  as  it  was  near  the 
telephone.  Mary  had  steadfastly  refused  to  have 
the  privacy  of  her  upper  rooms  invaded  by  the 
tyrant. 

One  warm  summer  night  when  bed-time  came 
she  made  the  announcement  that  she  was  going 
upstairs  to  sleep  in  the  big  room. 

"But  what  if  I  should  be  called  out  in  the 
night?"  asked  her  husband,  with  protest  in  his 
voice. 

"Then  I'd  be  safer  up  there  than  down  here," 
said  Mary,  calmly. 

"But  I  mean  you  couldn't  hear  the  'phone." 

"That  is  a  consummation  devoutly  to  be 
wished." 

"Now  don't  go  off  up  there,"  expostulated 
John.  "You  always  hear  it  and  I  sort  of  depend 
on  you  to  get  me  awake." 


DOCTOR'S  TELEPHONE  139 

"Exactly.  But  it's  a  good  thing  for  a  man  to 
depend  on  himself  once  in  awhile.  I  was  awake 
so  often  last  night  that  I'm  too  tired  and  sleepy 
to  argue.  But  I'm  going.  Good  night." 

"Thunder !" 

"It  doesn't  ring  every  night,"  said  Mary,  com- 
fortingly from  the  landing.  "Let  us  retire  in  the 
fond  belief  that  curfew  will  not  ring  tonight." 

When  she  retired  she  fell  at  once  into  deep 
sleep.  For  two  hours  she  slept  sweetly  on. 
Then  she  was  instantly  aroused.  The  figure  of 
a  man  stood  by  her  side.  In  the  moonlight  she 
saw  him  plainly,  clad  in  black.  Her  heart  was 
coming  up  into  her  throat  when  a  voice  said, 

"Mary,  I  have  to  go  two  miles  into  the  coun- 
try." 

"Why  didn't  you  call  me,  John,  instead  of 
standing  there  and  scaring  me  to  death?" 

"I  did  call  you  but  I  couldn't  get  you  awake." 

"Then  you  ought  to  have  let  me  be.  If  a  wo- 
man hasn't  a  right  to  a  night's  sleep  once  in 
awhile  what  is  she  entitled  to?" 

This  petulance  was  unusual  with  his  wife. 
"Well,  come  on  down  now,  Mary,"  he  said, 
kindly. 

"I'm  not  going  down  there  this  night." 

"But  you  can't  hear  the  'phone  up  here  and 
I'm  expecting  a  message  any  minute  that  must 
be  answered." 

"I'll  —  hear  —  that  —  'phone,"  said  Mary. 
"I'll  sleep  with  one  ear  and  one  eye  open." 


140  THE  STORY  OF  A 

"Have  it  your  own  way,"  said  the  doctor  as 
he  started  down  the  stairs. 

"I  intend  to.  But  when  I  tell  you  I'll  watch 
the  'phone,  John,  you  know  I'll  do  it." 

He  was  gone  and  she  lay  wide  awake.  It 
seemed  very  hard  to  be  ruthlessly  pulled  from 
a  sleep  so  deep  and  delicious  and  so  much 
needed. 

By  and  by  her  eye-lids  began  to  feel  heavy  and 
her  thoughts  went  wandering  into  queer  places. 
"This  won't  do,"  she  said  aloud,  sitting  up  in 
bed.  Then  she  rose  and  went  out  on  to  the  bal- 
cony. Seating  herself  in  an  arm  chair,  she 
looked  about  her  on  the  silvery  loveliness.  The 
cricket's  chirr  and  the  occasional  affirmations  of 
the  katy-did  were  the  only  sounds  she  heard.  "I 
didn't  say  you  didn't.  Don't  be  so  spiteful 
about  it." 

The  moon,  shining  through  the  branches  of 
the  big  oak  tree  made  faintly-flickering  shadows 
at  her  feet.  The  white  hammock,  stirring 
occasionally  as  a  breeze  touched  it,  invited  her. 
She  went  over  to  it  and  lay  for  many  minutes 
looking  up,  noting  how  fast  the  moon  glided 
from  one  branch  of  the  tree  to  another.  Now 
it  neared  the  trunk.  Now  a  slice  was  cut  off  its 
western  rim.  Now  it  was  only  a  half  moon  — 
"a  bweak-moon  on  the  sky,"  as  her  little  boy  had 
called  it.  Now  there  was  a  total  eclipse.  When 
it  began  peeping  out  on  the  other  side  of  the 
trunk  our  watcher's  dreamful  eyes  took  no  note 


DOCTOR'S  TELEPHONE  141 

of  it.  A  dog  barked.  She  sprang  up  and  seated 
herself  in  the  chair  again.  She  dare  not  trust 
herself  to  the  hammock.  It  was  too  seductive 
and  too  delightful.  So  she  sat  erect  and  waited 
for  the  ring  which  might  not  come  but  which 
must  be  watched  for  just  the  same.  Her  promise 
had  gone  forth.  Far  up  the  street  she  heard 
horses'  hoofs — it  must  be  John  returning.  The 
buggy-top  shining  in  the  moonlight  came  into 
view.  No,  it  was  a  white  horse.  Her  vigil  was 
not  yet  ended.  A  quarter  of  an  hour  later  she 
discerned  a  figure  far  down  the  walk.  She  fol- 
lowed it  with  her  eyes.  It  moved  swiftly  on. 
Would  it  turn  at  the  corner  and  come  up  toward 
their  house?  Yes,  it  was  turning.  Then  it 
turned  into  the  yard.  It  was  John.  She  went 
forward  and  leaning  over  the  railing  called  down 
to  him,  "A  good  chance  to  play  Romeo  now, 
John."  John  only  grunted  —  after  the  manner 
of  husbands. 

"Nobody    rang.      I'm    going    to    bed    again. 
Good  night  —  I  mean  good  morning." 


The  next  night  was  hotter  than  ever  and  Mary 
made  up  her  mind  she  would  sleep  up  in  the  ham- 
mock. She  had  had  a  delicious  taste  of  it  which 
made  her  wish  for  more.  To  avoid  useless  dis- 
cussion she  would  wait  till  John  retired  and  was 
asleep,  then  she  would  quietly  steal  away.  But 
when  this  was  accomplished  and  she  had  settled 


142  THE  STORY  OF  A 

herself  comfortably  to  sleep  she  found  herself 
wide  awake.  She  closed  her  eyes  and  gently 
wooed  slumber,  but  it  came  not.  Ah,  now  she 
knew !  The  night  before  she  had  shaken  off  all 
responsibility  for  the  'phone.  Therefore  she 
could  sleep.  Tonight  her  husband  lay  uncon- 
scious of  her  absence  and  the  burden  of  it  was 
upon  her  shoulders  again.  Well,  she  must  try  to 
sleep  anyway,  this  was  too  good  a  chance  to  lose. 
She  fell  asleep.  After  awhile  dinner  was  ready. 
Mollie  had  rung  the  little  bell  for  the  boys.  Now 
she  was  ringing  it  again.  Where  can  the  boys 
have  got  to  ?  Ting-a-ling-ling-ling.  Ting-a-ling- 
ling-ling.  Ting-a-ling-ling-ling.  Mary  sat  up  in 
the  hammock  and  rubbed  her  eyes. 

"Oh !"  she  sprang  out  and  rushed  to  the  stairs. 
"Doctor !" 

"John!"  The  snores  continued.  Ting-a-ling- 
ling-ling-ling-ling ! 

"Oh,  dear!"  gasped  Mary,  hurrying  down  as 
fast  as  her  feet  could  take  her.  Straight  to  the 
'phone  she  went.  It  must  be  appeased  first. 

"Hello?" 

"Hell-o!"  Where's  the  doctor?" 

"He  is  very  fast  asleep." 

"I've  found  that  out.  Can  you  get  him 
awake?"  Sharp  impatience  was  in  the  man's 
voice. 

"Hold  the  'phone  a  minute,  please,  and  I'll 
rouse  him." 

She  went  into  the  bedroom  and  calling,  "John ! 


DOCTOR'S  TELEPHONE  143 

John!"  shook  him  soundly  by  the  shoulders.  He 
sat  up  in  bed  with  a  wild  look. 

"Go  to  the  'phone,  quick!"  commanded  Mary. 

"Eh  ?" 

"Go  to  the  'phone.  It's  been  ringing  like  fury. 
Hurry." 

At  last  he  was  there  and  his  wife  knew  by  his 
questions  and  answers  that  he  would  be  out  for 
the  rest  of  the  night.  She  crept  into  bed.  After 
he  was  gone  she  would  go  upstairs.  When  he 
was  dressed  he  came  to  the  door  and  peered  in. 

"That's  right,  Mary,"  he  said,  with  such  hearty 
satisfaction  in  his  tones  that  she  answered  cheer- 
fully, "All  right  —  I'll  stay  this  time." 

And  when  he  was  gone  she  turned  her  face 
from  the  moonlit  window  and  slept  till  morning, 
oblivious  to  the  thieves  and  murderers  that  did 
not  come. 


Ting-a-ling-ling-ling.     Ting-a-ling-ling-ling. 

"Is  the  doctor  there?" 

"He  was  called  out  awhile  ago ;  will  be  back  in 
perhaps  twenty  minutes." 

"This  is  Mr.  Cowan.  I  only  wanted  to  ask  if 
my  wife  could  have  some  lemonade  this  morning. 
She  is  very  thirsty  and  craves  it  —  but  I  can 
call  again  after  awhile." 

How  discouraging  to  the  feverish,  thirsty  wife 
to  have  her  husband  come  back  and  tell  her  he 
would  'phone  again  after  awhile.  And  if,  after 


144  THE  STORY  OF  A 

waiting,  he  still  failed  to  find  the  doctor  ?  Mary 
knew  the  Cowans  quite  well  so  she  made  bold 
to  say,  hastily,  "I  think  the  doctor  would  say 
yes" 

"You  think  he  would?"  asked  Mr.  Cowan, 
hopefully. 

"I  think  he  would,  but  don't  let  her  have  too 
much,  of  course." 

"All  right.    Thank  you,  Mrs.  Blank." 

An  uneasy  feeling  came  into  Mary's  mind  and 
would  not  depart  as  she  went  about  her  work. 
Really,  what  right  had  she  to  prescribe  for  a 
sick  woman  even  so  harmless  a  thing  as  lemon- 
ade. How  did  she  know  that  it  was  harmless. 
Perhaps  in  this  case  there  was  some  combination 
of  symptoms  which  would  make  that  very  thing 
the  thing  the  patient  ought  not  to  have. 

In  about  fifteen  minutes  there  came  a  ring  — 
three.  Mary  started  guiltily.  It  sounded  like 
the  doctor's  ring.  Was  he  going  to  reprimand 
her?  But  it  was  the  voice  of  a  friend  and  it 
surprised  Mary  with  this  question : 

"Mrs.  Blank,  if  you  were  me  would  you  have 
your  daughter  operated  upon  ?" 

"Operated  upon  for  what?" 

"For  appendicitis." 

"Nettie,  let  me  tell  you  something:  if  I  had 
no  more  sense  than  to  give  you  advice  on  such 
a  question  as  that,  I  certainly  hope  you  would 
have  more  sense  than  to  take  it.  Advice  about 
a  thing  with  no  sort  of  knowledge  of  that  thing 
is  as  worthless  as  it  is  common." 


DOCTOR'S  TELEPHONE  145 

"Why  —  I  thought  since  you  are  a  doctor's 
wife  you  would  know  about  it." 

"Can  you  draw  up  a  legal  will  because  you 
happen  to  be  the  wife  of  a  lawyer?" 

"No-o,  but—" 

"But  me  no  buts,"  quoth  Mary.  "We're  even 
now." 

"Well,  I've  heard  it  said  a  doctor's  wife  knows 
even  less  than  many  others  about  ills  and  their 
remedies  because  she  is  so  used  to  depending  on 
her  husband  that  she  never  has  to  think  of  them 
herself.  I  guess  I'd  better  talk  to  the  doctor. 
I  just  thought  I'd  see  what  you  said  first.  Good- 
bye." 

"My  skirts  are  clear  of  any  advice  in  that  di- 
rection," thought  Mary,  her  mind  reverting  again 
to  the  lemonade. 

"Nettie  couldn't  have  'phoned  me  at  a  more 
opportune  minute  to  get  the  right  answer.  But 
I  wonder  if  John  is  back.  I'll  see."  She  rang. 

"Hello." 

"Say,  John,  Mr.  Cowan  'phoned  awhile  ago, 
and  his  wife  was  very  thirsty  and  craved  lem- 
onade and — don't  scold — I  took  the  liberty  of 
saying  —  it's  awful  for  a  thirsty  person  to  have 
to  wait  and  wait  you  know  —  and  so  I  said  I 
thought  you  would  say  she  might  have  it." 

"I  hope  you  weren't  this  long  about  it,"  laughed 
her  husband. 

"Then  it  was  all  right?" 

"Certainly."     Much   relieved  Mary  hung  up 


I46  THE  STORY  OF  A 

the  receiver.     "What  needless  apprehension  as- 
sails us  sometimes,"  she  thought,  as  she  went 
singing  to  her  broom. 
"Just  the  same,  I  won't  prescribe  very  often." 


DOCTOR'S  TELEPHONE  147 


CHAPTER  XI. 

It  was  five  o'clock  in  the  morning  when  the 
doctor  heard  the  call  and  made  his  way  to  it.  His 
wife  was  roused  too  and  was  a  passive  listener. 

"Yes." 

"Yes." 

"Down  where  ?    I  don't  understand  you." 

"On  what  street? Down  near  Dyre's?  I 

don't  know  any  such  family."  Here  Mary  called 
out,  "Maybe  they  mean  Dye's." 

"Dye's  ?  Yes,  I  know  where  that  is Gal- 
liver —  that's  the  name  is  it?  Very  well,  Mrs. 
Galliver,  I'll  be  down  in  a  little  while.  .  .  .  Yes, 
just  as  soon  as  I  can  dress  and  get  there." 

He  proceeded  to  clothe  himself  very  deliber- 
ately, but  years  of  repression  had  taught  Mary 
resignation. 

Ting-a-ling-ling-ling.     Three  rings. 

The  doctor  went  with  shoe  in  hand  and  again 
his  wife  was  a  listener. 

"Yes Yes I'm  just  getting  ready  to 

go  to  see  a  patient It's  a  hurry  call,  is  it  ? 

All  right  then,  I'll  come  there  first Yes, 

right  away." 

As  he  put  up  the  receiver  he  said  to  his  wife, 
"Somebody  else  was  trying  to  get  me  then,  too, 
but  couldn't  make  it."  Mary  thought  it  well  he 


I48  THE  STORY  OF  A 

couldn't  since  her  husband  was  only  one  and  in- 
divisible. 

"But  he  will  probably  try  again  after  a  little," 
she  thought,  "and  John  will  be  gone  and  I  won't 
know  just  where  to  find  him." 

Ting-a-ling-ling-ling-ling-ling.  Collar  in  hand 
the  doctor  went. 

"Yes Who  is  this?. . . .  Come  where?. . .. 

Jackson  street.  Right  next  to  Wilson's  mill  ? .  .  .  . 
On  which  side?  I  say  on  which  side  of  Wilson's 

mill? West?  All  right,  I'll  be  down  there 

after  awhile No,  not  right  away ;  I  have  to 

make  two  other  yisits  first,  but  as  soon  as  I  can 
get  there." 

When  at  last  he  was  dressed  and  his  hand  was 
on  the  door-knob  the  'phone  called  him  back. 

"You  say  I  needn't  come Very  well.  I'll 

come  if  you  want  me  to  though,  Mrs.  Galliver. 
I'm  just  starting  now.  I  have  to  see  another 
patient  first." — 

"Why  John,"  interposed  Mary  from  the  bed- 
room, "She  called  you  first." 

"It  will  be  about  half  an  hour  before  I  can 
get  there All  right,  I'll  be  there." 

Then  Mary  remembered  that  No.  2  was  the 
hurry  call  and  was  silent.  When  the  doctor  was 
gone  she  fell  asleep  but  only  for  two  minutes. 

She  went  to  answer  the  call.  "Has  the  doctor 
started  yet?" 

"Yes,  he  is  on  his  way." 


DOCTOR'S  TELEPHONE  149 

"All  right  then,"  and  the  relief  in  the  tone  was 
a  pleasant  thing-  to  hear. 

"Now,  if  I  go  to  sleep  again  I  can  feel  no  se- 
curity from  No.  1  or  No.  3  or  both."  Neverthe- 
less she  did  go  to  sleep  and  neither  No.  1  nor 
No.  3  called  her  out  of  it. 


"I  must  be  going,"  said  Mary,  rising  from  her 
chair  in  a  neighbor's  house. 

"Have  you  something  special  on  hand  ?"  asked 
her  neighbor. 

"Yes,  it's  clock-winding  day  at  our  house,  for 
one  thing." 

"Why,  how  many  clocks  do  you  have  to  wind  ?" 
inquired  the  little  old  lady  with  mild  surprise. 

"Only  one,  thank  heaven!"  ejaculated  Mary 
as  she  departed. 

When  she  had  sped  across  the  yard  and  en- 
tered her  own  door  she  threw  off  her  shawl  and 
made  ready  to  wind  the  clock.  First,  she  turned 
off  the  gas  in  the  grate  so  that  her  skirts  would 
not  catch  fire.  Second,  she  brought  a  chair  and 
set  it  on  the  hearth  in  front  of  the  grate.  Third, 
she  went  into  the  next  room  and  got  the  big  un- 
abridged dictionary,  brought  it  out  and  put  it  on 
the  chair.  Fourth,  she  went  back  and  got  the 
oldest  and  thickest  Family  Bible  and  the  fat  Bi- 
ble Dictionary,  brought  them  out  and  deposited 
them  on  the  unabridged.  Fifth,  she  mounted  the 
chair.  Sixth,  she  mounted  the  volumes  —  which 


1 50  THE  STORY  OF  A 

brought  her  up  to  the  height  she  was  seeking  to 
attain.  Seventh,  she  wound  the  clock;  that  is, 
she  usually  did.  Today,  when  she  had  inserted 
the  key  and  turned  it  twice  round  —  the  'phone 
rang.  Oh,  dear !  Thank  goodness  it  stopped  at 
two  rings.  She  would  take  it  for  granted  the 
doctor  was  in  the  office.  She  wound  on.  Then 
she  took  the  key  out  and  inserted  it  on  the  op- 
posite side.  A  second  peal.  That  settled  it.  If 
it  were  a  lawyer's  or  a  merchant's  or  any  other 
man's  'phone  she  could  wind  the  other  side  first 
—  but  the  doctor's  is  in  the  imperative  mood  and 
the  present  tense.  She  must  descend.  Slowly 
and  cautiously  she  did  so,  went  to  the  'phone  and 
put  the  receiver  to  her  ear. 

"Hello,  is  this  Dr.  Blank's  office  ?" 

"This  is  his  — " 

"Hello,  what  is  it?"  said  her  husband's  voice. 
"Now  why  couldn't  he  have  come  a  minute 
sooner,"  thought  Mary,  provoked. 

"Doctor,"  said  an  agitated  voice,  "my  little 
boy  has  swallowed  a  penny." 

"Was  it  a  good  one?"  inquired  the  doctor, 
calmly. 

"Why  —  ye-es,"  said  the  voice,  broken  with  a 
laugh,  "guess  it  was." 

"Just  let  him  alone.  It  will  be  all  right  after 
awhile." 

"It  was  worth  getting  down  to  hear  so  com- 
forting an  assurance,"  said  Mary  as  she  ascended 
again  the  chair  and  the  volumes.  She  finished 


DOCTOR'S  TELEPHONE  151 

her  weekly  task,  then  slowly  and  cautiously  de- 
scended, carried  the  big  books  back  to  their 
places,  set  the  chair  in  its  corner  and  lighted  the 
gas.  She  stood  for  a  moment  looking  up  at  this 
clock.  The  space  over  the  mantel-piece  was  just 
the  place  for  it  and  it  was  only  after  it  had  been 
firmly  anchored  to  the  wall  that  the  thought  had 
arisen,  "How  can  I  ever  get  up  there  to  wind  it  ?" 

She  smiled  as  she  thought  of  a  social  gather- 
ing a  few  days  before,  when  a  lady  had  called  to 
her  across  the  room,  "Mrs.  Blank,  tell  us  that 
clock  story  again."  And  she  had  answered : 

"It  isn't  much  of  a  story,  but  it  serves  to  show 
the  manner  in  which  we  computed  the  time.  One 
night  the  doctor  woke  me  up.  'Mary,'  he  said 
in  a  helpless  sort  of  way,  'It  struck  seven  —  what 
time  is  it?'  'Well— let  me  see,'  I  said.  'If  it 
struck  seven  it  meant  to  strike  three,  for  it  strikes 
four  ahead  of  time.  And  if  it  meant  to  strike 
three  it's  just  a  quarter  past  two,  for  it's  three 
quarters  of  an  hour  too  fast.'  "  Ting-a-ling-ling. 
Ting-a-ling-ling-ling.  Ting-a-ling-ling-ling. 

Mary  recognized  her  husband's  ring.  "Yes, 
what  is  it  John  ?" 

"I'm  going  out  for  twenty  minutes,  watch  the 
'phone,  please." 

She  laughed  in  answer  to  this  most  superflu- 
ous request,  then  sat  her  down  near  by. 


"John,  Mrs.  B.  said  a  pretty  good  thing  last 
night." 


I52  THE  STORY  OF  A 

"That's  good." 

"I've  a  notion  not  to  tell  you,  now  that  the 
good  thing  was  about  you." 

"That's  better  still.  But  are  good  things  about 
me  so  rare  that  you  made  a  note  of  it  ?" 

"I  don't  know  but  what  they  are,"  said  Mary, 
reflectively.  "There  was  Mrs.  C.,  you  know,  who 
said  she  didn't  see  how  in  the  world  Doc  Blank's 
wife  ever  lived  with  him  —  he  was  so  mean." 

"I  wonder  about  that  myself,  sometimes." 

"The  way  I  manage  it  is  to  assert  myself  when 
it  becomes  necessary — and  it  does.  You're  a 
physician  to  your  patients  but  to  me  you're  a 
mere  man." 

"I  feel  myself  shrivelling.  But  how  about  Mrs. 
B.'s  compliment?" 

"I  was  over  at  the  church  where  a  social  pro- 
gram of  some  sort  was  being  given  and  'between 
acts'  everybody  was  moving  about  chatting.  An 
elderly  woman  near  me  asked,  'Mrs.  Blank,  do 
you  know  who  the  HammeH's  are?'  I  told  her 
that  I  did  not,  and  she  went  on,  'I  see  by  the 
paper  that  a  member  of  their  family  died  today, 
and  I  thought  you,  being  a  doctor's  wife,  might 
know  something  about  it.' 

"Mrs.  B.  spoke  up  promptly,  'Why,  Mrs.  Blank 
wouldn't  know  anything  about  the  dead  people  — 
her  husband  gets  'em  well.'" 

The  doctor  laughed,  "And  she  believes  it  too," 
he  said. 

"No  doubt  of  it.  So  a  compliment  like  that 
offsets  one  of  Mrs.  C.'s  kind." 


DOCTOR'S  TELEPHONE  153 

•  "O,  no.  The  C.'s  have  it  by  a  big  majority. 
Don't  you  know  I  have  the  reputation  of  being 
the  meanest  man  in  the  county?" 

"No,  I  don't." 

"Well,  I  have.  Do  you  remember  that  drive 
we  took  a  week  or  two  ago  up  north  ?" 

"That  long  drive?" 

"Yes.  When  I  went  in  the  man  who  was  a 
stranger  to  me,  said,  "I'll  tell  you  why  I  sent  for 
you.  I've  had  two  or  three  doctors  out  here, 
recommended  as  good  doctors,  and  they  haven't 
done  me  a  darned  bit  of  good.  Yesterday  I 
heard  you  was  the  meanest  doctor  in  this  county 
and  I  said  to  myself,  "He's  the  man  I  want." 

"I  heard  you  laughing  and  wondered  what  it 
was  about.  The  man's  wife  came  out  to  the 
buggy  and  talked  to  me.  She  said  they  were 
strangers  and  didn't  know  anything  about  the 
doctors  around  here  —  they  had  thought  of  send- 
ing down  to  this  town  for  a  doctor  but  she  had 
spoken  to  a  woman  —  a  neighbor  —  and  she  had 
said  there  wasn't  any  of  'em  any  account  down 
there.  But  her  husband  kept  getting  worse  so 
they  finally  sent  for  Dr.  Blank  and  she  hoped 
he'd  cure  'im.  Are  you  doing  it?  I  hope  so 
for  I  assured  her  that  the  physicians  of  this  town 
are  recognized  throughout  the  State  as  being 
men  of  exceptional  ability,  and  she  went  in, 
comforted." 

"Yes,  he  got  better  as  soon  as  he  struck  the 
toad  to  health,"  laughed  John.  He  took  out  his 


154  THE  STORY  OF  A 

watch.  "Jove!  I  haven't  any  time  to  spare  if  I 
catch  that  train."  For  several  days  he  had  been 
taking  the  train  to  a  little  station  some  miles  out 
of  town,  where  he  would  get  off  and  walk  a  mile 
to  the  home  of  his  patient,  make  his  visit  and 
walk  back  in  time  to  catch  the  train  for  home. 

Just  after  the  doctor  left  the  house  the  tele- 
phone rang  twice.  His  wife  answered  it,  know- 
ing he  had  not  yet  reached  the  office. 

"Is  the  doctor  there?" 

"He  left  the  house  just  a  minute  ago." 

"Well,  he's  coming  down  today  isn't  he?" 

"Is  this  Mrs.  Shortridge?" 

"Yes." 

"Yes,  he  just  said  he  must  make  that  train." 

"He'll  go  to  the  office  first  won't  he  ?" 

"Yes,  to  get  his  case,  I  think." 

"Will  you  please  telephone  him  there  to  bring 
a  roast  with  him?" 

"To  bring  what?" 

"A  roast." 

Mary  was  nonplussed.  Her  husband  had  the 
reputation  of  "roasting"  his  patients  and  their 
attendants  on  occasion.  Had  an  occasion  arisen 
now? 

"Why,  ye-es,"  she  began,  uncertainly,  when  the 
voice  spoke  again. 

"I  mean  a  roast  of  beef,  Mrs.  Blank.  I 
thought  as  the  doctor  was  coming  he  wouldn't 
mind  stopping  at  the  butcher's  arid  bringing  me 
a  roast  —  tell  him  a  good-sized  one." 


DOCTOR'S  TELEPHONE  155 

The  receiver  clicked.  Mary  still  held  hers. 
Then  she  rang  the  office. 

"What  is  it  ?"    Great  haste  spoke  in  the  voice. 

"John,  Mrs.  Shortridge  wants  you  to  bring  her 
a  roast  of  beef  when  you  go  down." 

"The  devil  she  does!" 

"The  market  is  right  on  your  way.  Hurry. 
Don't  miss  the  train !"  She  put  up  the  receiver, 
then  she  snatched  it  and  rang  again  violently. 

"Now  what !"  thundered  John's  voice. 

"She  said  to  get  a  good-sized  one."  Standing 
with  the  receiver  in  her  hand  and  shaking  with 
laughter  she  heard  the  office-door  shut  with  a 
bang  and  knew  that  he  was  off. 

She  knew  that  if  he  had  been  going  in  the 
buggy  he  would  have  been  glad  to  do  Mrs.  S.'s 
bidding.  He  often  carried  ice  and  other  needful 
things  to  homes  where  he  visited.  Mary  pictured 
her  husband  picking  his  way  along  a  muddy 
country  road,  his  case  in  one  hand  and  the 
"roast"  in  the  other,  and  thought  within  herself, 
"He'll  be  in  a  better  mood  for  a  roast  when  he 
arrives  than  when  he  started." 


Mary  was  out  in  the  kitchen  making  jelly.  At 
the  critical  moment  when  the  beaded  bubbles 
were  "winking  at  the  brim"  came  the  ring.  She 
lifted  the  kettle  to  one  side,  wiped  her  hands  and 
went. 

"Is  this  you,  Mary?" 


I56  THE  STORY  OF  A 

"Yes." 

"Watch  the  'phone  a  little  bit,  please.  I  have 
to  be  out  about  half  an  hour." 

"I'm  always  watching  the  'phone,  John,  al- 
ways, always!" 

She  went  back  to  her  jelly.  She  put  it  back 
on  the  fire,  an  inert  mass  with  all  the  bubbles 
died  out  of  it.  Scarcely  had  she  done  so  when 
the  'phone  rang  —  two  rings.  Surely  the  doctor 
had  not  got  beyond  hearing  distance.  He  would 
answer.  But  perhaps  he  had  —  he  was  a  very 
swift  walker.  The  only  way  to  be  sure  of  it 
was  to  go  to  the  telephone  and  listen.  She  went 
hastily  back  and  as  she  put  the  receiver  to  her 
ear  there  came  a  buzz  against  it  which  made 
her  jump. 

"Hello,"  she  said. 

"I  wanted  the  doctor,  Mrs.  Blank,  do  you  know 
where  he  is  ?" 

"He  just  'phoned  me  that  he  — "  an  unmistak- 
able sound  arose  from  the  kitchen  stove.  The 
jelly  was  boiling  over!  Instinct  is  older  than  the 
telephone.  The  receiver  dangled  in  air  while 
Mary  rushed  madly  to  the  rescue.  "I  might  have 
known  it,"  she  said  to  herself,  as  she  pushed  the 
kettle  aside  and  rushed  back  to  the  'phone. 

"I  guess  they  cut  us  off,"  said  the  voice. 

"I  was  just  saying,"  said  Mary,  "that  the  doc- 
tor 'phoned  me  a  few  minutes  ago  he  would  be 
out  for  half  an  hour." 

"Will  you  please  tell  him  when  he  comes  in 
to  call  up  83?" 


DOCTOR'S  TELEPHONE  157 

The  man  goes  on  his  way,  relieved  of  further 
responsibility  in  the  matter.  It  will  be  a  very 
easy  thing  for  the  doctor's  wife  to  call  up  her 
husband  and  give  him  the  message.  Let  us  see. 

When  the  jelly  was  done,  and  Mary  had  begun 
to  fill  the  waiting  glasses  she  thought,  "I'd  better 
see  if  John  is  back.  He  may  go  out  again  before 
I  can  deliver  that  message."  So  she  set  the  kettle 
on  the  back  of  the  stove  and  went  to  ascertain 
if  her  husband  had  returned.  No  answer  to  her 
ring.  She  had  better  ring  again  to  be  sure  of  it. 
No  answer.  She  went  back  to  the  kitchen.  When 
the  glasses  were  all  filled  and  she  had  held  first 
one  and  then  another  up  to  get  the  sunlight 
through  the  clear  beautiful  redness  of  them,  she 
began  setting  them  back  to  cool.  The  telephone ! 
She  hurried  in  and  rang  again  to  see  if  John  had 
got  back.  Silence.  She  sighed  and  hung  up  the 
receiver.  "I'd  like  to  get  it  off  my  mind."  As 
she  started  toward  the  kitchen  again  the  door- 
bell rang.  She  went  to  open  the  door,  and  won- 
der of  wonders  —  an  old  friend  she  had  not  seen 
for  years ! 

"I  am  passing  through  town,  Mary,  and  have 
just  three  quarters  of  an  hour  till  my  train  goes. 
Now  sit  down  and  talk." 

And  the  pair  of  them  did  talk,  oblivious  to 
everything  about  them.  How  the  minutes  did 
fly  and  the  questions  too!  The  'phone  rang  in 
the  next  room  —  two  rings.  On  Mary's  accus- 
tomed ear  it  fell  unheeded.  She  talked  on.  Again 
two  rings.  She  did  not  notice. 


158  THE  STORY  OF  A 

"Isn't  that  your  'phone  ?"  asked  the  visitor. 

"O,  yes!  You  knocked  it  clean  out  of  my 
head,  Alice.  Excuse  me  a  minute,"  and  she  van- 
ished. 

"Did  you  give  that  message  to  the  doctor  ?" 

"He  is  not  back  yet." 

"I  saw  him  go  into  the  office  not  ten  minutes 
ago." 

"I  have  'phoned  twice  and  failed  to  find  him." 

"I  hoped  when  I  saw  him  leave  the  office  that 
he  had  started  down  to  see  my  little  boy,  but  of 
course  he  hasn't  if  he  didn't  get  the  message." 

"I  am  sorry.  An  old  friend  I  had  not  seen  for 
years  came  in  and  of  course  it  went  out  of  my 
mind  for  a  few  minutes,  though  I  'phoned  twice 
before  she  came.  I  am  sure  he  will  be  back  in 
a  few  minutes  and  I  will  send  him  right  down, 
Mr.  Nelson." 

"Why  do  you  do  that?"  asked  her  friend, 
pointedly  as  she  came  in.  "Why  take  upon  your- 
self the  responsibility  of  people's  messages  be- 
ing delivered." 

"It  is  an  awful  responsibility.  I  don't  know 
why  I  do  it  —  so  many  people  seem  to  expect  it 
as  a  matter  of  course  — " 

"It's  a  great  deal  easier  for  each  person  to  de- 
liver his  own  message  than  for  you  to  have  a 
half  dozen  on  your  mind  at  once.  I  wouldn't  do 
it.  You'll  be  a  raving  lunatic  by  the  next  time 
I  see  you." 

"At  least  I'll  have  ample  time  in  which  to  be- 
come one,"  laughed  Mary. 


DOCTOR'S  TELEPHONE  159 

"I'm  going,"  announced  her  friend,  suddenly 
rising.  "I  could  spare  five  or  ten  minutes  more 
but  if  I  sit  here  you'll  forget  that  'phone  again. 
But  take  my  advice,  Mary,  and  institute  a  change 
in  the  order  of  things." 

When  she  had  gone  Mary  sat  for  a  few  min- 
utes lost  in  thought.  Then,  remembering,  she 
sprang  up  and  went  to  the  'phone.  No  answer 
to  her  ring.  "Dear  me!  Will  I  never  get  that 
message  delivered  and  off  my  mind."  Soon  a 
ring  came. 

"Isn't  he  back  yet?" 

"I  'phoned  about  three  minutes  ago  and  failed 
to  get  him.  By  the  way,  Mr.  Nelson,  will  you 
just  'phone  the  doctor  at  the  office,  please  ?  That 
will  be  a  more  direct  way  to  get  him  as  I  seem 
to  fail  altogether  this  morning.  I  am  sure  that 
he  can't  be  gone  much  longer,"  she  said  very 
pleasantly  and  hung  up  the  receiver.  The  re- 
sponsibility had  been  gracefully  shifted  and  she 
was  free  for  a  while.  Other  occasions  would 
arise  when  she  could  not  be  free,  but  in  cases  of 
this  kind  her  friend's  clear  insight  had  helped 
her  out. 


Ting-a-ling-ling-ling.     Ting-a-ling-ling-ling. 

"Hello." 

"Is  this  Dr.  Blank?" 

"Yes." 

"My  husband  has  just  started  for  your  office. 


160  THE  STORY  OF  A 

He  says  he's  going-  to  send  you  down.  I  don't 
need  a  doctor.  Will  you  tell  him  that?" 

"I'll  tell  him  you  said  so." 

"Well,  I  don't.    So  don't  you  come!" 

"All  right.  I  haven't  got  time  to  be  bothered 
with  you  anyway.  The  sick  people  take  my 
time." 

In  a  few  minutes  the  'phone  rang  again. 

"Dr.  Blank,  can  you  come  over  to  the  Woolson 
Hotel?" 

"Right  away?" 

"Yes,  if  you  can.  There's  a  case  here  I've 
treated  a  little  that  I'm  not  satisfied  about." 

"All  right,  Doctor,  I'll  be  there  in  a  few  min- 
utes." 

When  he  reached  the  hotel  and  had  examined 
the  patient  he  said,  "He  has  smallpox." 

"I  began  to  suspect  that." 

"Not  a  bit  of  doubt  of  it." 

"The  hotel  is  full  of  people  —  I'm  afraid 
there'll  be  a  panic." 

"We  must  get  him  out  of  here.  We'll  have 
to  improvise  a  pest-house  at  once.  I'll  go  and 
see  about  it." 

That  evening  about  an  hour  after  supper  the 
doctor's  daughter  came  hurriedly  into  the  room 
where  her  mother  was  sitting. 

"Mother,"  she  exclaimed,  "there's  an  awful  lot 
of  people  in  the  office,  a  regular  mob  and  they're 
as  mad  as  fury." 

"What  about?"  exclaimed  her  mother,  startled. 


DOCTOR'S  TELEPHONE  161 

"They're  mad  at  father  for  putting  the  tent  for 
a  smallpox  patient  down  in  their  neighborhood." 

"Is  he  in  the  office  now?" 

"He  was  there  when  I  first  went  in  but  he 
isn't  there  just  now.  Father  wasn't  a  bit  dis- 
turbed, but  I  am.  I  got  out  of  there.  The  mayor 
went  into  the  office  just  as  I  came  out." 

Uneasy,  in  spite  of  herself,  Mary  waited  her 
husband's  return.  Ten' o'clock,  and  he  had  not 
come.  She  went  to  the  'phone  and  called  the 
office.  The  office  man  answered. 

"Where  is  the  doctor?" 

"He  was  in  here  a  few  minutes  ago,  but 
there's  a  big  fuss  down  at  the  smallpox  tent  and 
I  think  he's  gone  down  there." 

Mary  rang  off  and  with  nervous  haste  called 
the  mayor's  residence. 

"Is  this  Mr.  Felton  ?" 

"Yes." 

"This  is  Mrs.  Blank.  I  am  very  uneasy  about 
the  doctor,  Mr.  Felton.  I  hear  he  has  just  started 
down  to  the  smallpox  tent.  Won't  you  please 
see  that  someone  goes  down  at  once?" 

"Yes,  Mrs.  Blank.  I  came  from  there  a  little 
while  ago  but  they're  mad  at  the  doctor  and  I'll 
go  right  back.  I'm  not  going  to  bed  until  I 
know  everything's  quieted  down." 

"And  you'll  take  others  with  you  ?"  she  pleaded, 
but  the  mayor  was  gone.  Again  she  waited  in 
great  anxiety.  The  tent  was  too  far  away  for 
her  to  go  out  into  the  night  in  search  of  him. 


162  THE  STORY  OF  A 

Between  eleven  and  twelve  o'clock  she  heard 
footsteps.  She  rose  and  went  to  the  door.  Al- 
most she  expected  to  see  her  husband  brought 
home  ton  a  stretcher.  But  there  he  came,  walking 
with  buoyant  step.  When  he  came  in  he  kissed 
his  anxious  wife  and  then  broke  into  a  laugh. 

"My !  how  good  that  sounds !  I  heard  of  the 
mob  and  have  been  frightened  out  of  my  wits." 

"They've  quieted  down  now.  There  wasn't  a 
bit  of  sense  in  what  they  did." 

"Well,  I  don't  know  that  one  can  really  blame 
them  for  not  wanting  smallpox  brought  into  the 
neighborhood.  Couldn't  you  have  taken  the  tent 
farther  out?" 

"Yes,  if  we  had  had  time.  But  we  had  a  sick 
man  on  our  hands  —  he  had  to  be  got  out  of  the 
hotel  and  he  had  to  be  taken  care  of  right  away. 
He  had  to  have  a  nurse.  There  must  be  water 
in  the  tent  and  the  nurse  can't  be  running  out 
of  a  pest-house  to  get  it.  Neither  can  anyone 
carry  it  to  such  a  place.  So  we  couldn't  put  it 
beyond  the  water-  and  gas-pipes  —  there  must  be 
heat,  too,  you  know.  We  have  done  the  very 
best  we  could  without  more  time.  The  nearest 
house  is  fifty  yards  away  and  there's  absolutely 
no  danger  if  the  people  down  there  will  just 
get  vaccinated  and  then  keep  away  from  the 
tent." 

"They  surely  will  do  that." 

"Some  of  them  may.  One  fool  said  to  me 
awhile  ago  when  I  told  them  that,  'Oh,  yes!  we 


DOCTOR'S  TELEPHONE  163 

see  your  game.  You  want  to  get  a  lot  of  money 
out  of  us.' " 

"What  did  you  say  to  that  ancient  charge," 
asked  Mary,  smiling. 

"I  said,  'My  man,  I'll  pay  for  the  virus,  and 
I'll  vaccinate  everyone  of  you,  and  everyone  in 
that  neighborhood  and  it  won't  cost  you  a  cent'." 

"Did  he  look  ashamed?" 

"I  didn't  wait  to  see.  I  had  urgent  business 
out  just  then." 

"Is  the  patient  in  the  tent  now  ?" 

"Yes,  all  snug  and  comfortable  with  a  nurse 
to  take  care  of  him.  That  was  my  urgent  busi- 
ness. I  went  into  the  back  room  of  the  office  in 
the  midst  of  their  jabber,  slipped  out  the  door, 
got  into  the  buggy  hitched  back  there,  drove  to 
the  hotel  and  with  Dr.  Collins'  help,  got  the  pa- 
tient down  the  ladder  waiting  for  us,  into  the 
buggy,  then  got  the  nurse  down  the  ladder  and 
in,  too,  then  away  we  drove  lickety-cut  for  the 
tent  while  the  mob  was  away  from  there.  Then 
I  went  back  to  the  office  and  attended  the  meet- 
ing," added  the  doctor,  laughing  heartily. 

His  wife  laughed  too,  but  rather  uneasily. 
"Were  they  still  there  when  you  got  back?" 

"Every  mother's  son  of  'em.  They  didn't  stay 
long  though.  I  advised  them  to  go  home,  that 
the  patient  was  in  the  tent  and  would  stay  there. 
They  broke  for  the  tent  —  vowed  they'd  set  fire 
to  it  with  him  in  it  and  I  think  they  intended  to 
hang  me,"  and  the  doctor  laughed  again. 


164  THE  STORY  OF  A 

"John,  don't  ever  get  into  such  a  scrape  again. 
I  'phoned  Mr.  Felton  and  begged  him  to  go  down 
there  and  take  someone  with  him." 

"You  did?  Well,  he  came,  and  it  happened 
there  was  a  member  of  the  State  Board  of  Health 
in  town  who  had  got  on  to  the  racket.  He  came, 
too,  and  you  ought  to  have  heard  him  read  the 
riot  act  to  those  fellows : 

"  'We've  got  a  sick  man  here  —  a  stranger, 
far  from  his  home.  You  are  in  no  danger  what- 
ever. Every  doctor  in  town  has  told  you  so. 
We're  going  to  take  care  of  this  man  and  don't 
you  forget  it.  We  have  the  whole  State  of  Illi- 
nois behind  us,  and  if  this  damned  foolishness 
don't  stop  right  here,  I'll  have  the  militia  here  in 
a  few  hours'  time  and  arrest  every  one  of  you.' 
That  quieted  them.  They  slunk  off  home  and 
won't  bother  us  any  more." 


Three  or  four  days  after  the  above  conversa- 
tion Mary  stood  at  the  window  looking  out  at  the 
storm  which  was  raging.  The  wind  was  blow- 
ing fearfully  and  the  rain  coming  down  in  tor- 
rents. "I  do  hope  John  will  not  be  called  to  the 
country  today,"  she  thought. 

Ting-a-ling-ling-ling — three  rings. 

"Is  this  Dr.  Blank's  office  ?"  asked  a  feminine 
voice. 

"No,  his  residence." 

"Mrs.  Blank,  this  is  the  nurse  at  the  smallpox 


DOCTOR'S  TELEPHONE  165 

tent.  Will  you  'phone  the  office  and  tell  the  doc- 
tor it's  raining  in  down  here  terribly.  I'm  in  a 
hurry,  must  spread  things  over  the  patient." 

"Very  well,  I'll  'phone  him,"  and  she  rang 
twice.  No  reply.  Again.  No  reply.  "Too  bad 
he  isn't  in.  I'll  have  to  wait  a  few  minutes." 

In  five  minutes  she  rang  again,  but  got  no  re- 
ply. In  another  minute  she  was  called  to  the 
'phone. 

"Didn't  you  get  word  to  the  doctor,  Mrs. 
Blank?"  asked  a  voice,  full  of  anxiety.  "I'm 
afraid  we'll  drown  before  he  gets  here." 

"I  have  been  anxiously  watching  for  him,  but 
he  must  be  visiting  a  patient.  Hold  the  'phone 
please  till  I  ring  again."  This  time  her  husband 
answered. 

"Doctor,  here's  the  nurse  at  the  tent  to  speak 
to  you."  She  waited  to  hear  what  he  would  say. 

"Doctor,  please  come  down  here  and  help  us. 
The  roof  is  leaking  awfully  and  we  are  about  to 
drown." 

"All  right,  I'll  be  down  after  a  little." 

"Don't  wait  too  long." 

Mary's  practised  ear  caught  something  begin- 
ning with  a  capital  D  as  the  receiver  clicked. 

"Poor  old  John,"  she  murmured,  "it's  awful 
—  the  things  you  have  to  do." 

The  doctor  got  into  his  rubber  coat  and  set 
out  for  his  improvised  pest-house. 

When  he  came  home  Mary  asked,  "Did  you 
stop  the  leak?" 


i66  THE  STORY  OF  A 

"I  did.    But  I  had  a  devil  of  a  time  doing  it." 

"I'm  curious  to  know  how  you  would  go 
about  it." 

"The  roof  was  double  and  I  had  to  straighten 
out  and  stretch  the  upper  canvas  with  the  wind 
blowing  it  out  of  my  hands  and  nobody  to  help 
me  hold  it." 

"Was  there  nobody  in  sight?" 

"That  infernal  coward  of  a  watchman,  but  I 
couldn't  get  him  near  the  tent  —  he's  had  small- 
pox, too." 

"I  should  think  the  nurse  could  have  helped  a 
little,  that  is  if  she  knew  where  to  take  hold  of 
it,  and  what  to  do  with  it  when  she  got  hold." 

"O,  she  sputtered  around  some  and  imagined 
she  was  helping." 

"Poor  thing,"  said  Mary,  laughing,  "I  know 
just  how  bewildered  she  was  with  you  storming 
commands  at  her  which  she  couldn't  understand 
—  women  can't." 

Ting-a-ling-ling-ling.  Ting-a-ling-ling-ling. 
Ting-a-ling-ling-ling. 

The  doctor  helloed  gruffly. 

"Is  this  you,  Doc  ?" 

"Looks  like  it." 

"We  want  ye  to  come  down  here  an'  diagnosis 
these  cases." 

"What  czses\" 

"There's  two  down  here." 

"Down  where?" 

"Down  here  at  my  house." 


DOCTOR'S  TELEPHONE  167 

"Well,  who  the  devil  are  you?" 

"Bill  Masters.  We're  afraid  maybe  it's  small- 
pox." 

"Yes,  yes!"  snarled  the  doctor,  "every  pimple 
around  here  for  the  next  three  months  will  be 
smallpox." 

"Well,  we  want  ye  to  diagnosis  it,  Doc." 

"All  right.  I'll  'diagnosis'  it  the  first  time  I'm 
down  that  way  —  maybe  this  evening  or  tomor- 
row," and  he  slammed  the  receiver  up  and  went 
to  bed. 


One  evening  the  doctor  was  waiting  for  the 
stork  at  a  farmhouse  some  miles  from  home.  He 
concluded  to  telephone  his  wife  as  it  might  be 
several  hours  before  he  got  in.  He  rang  and 
put  the  receiver  to  his  ear: 

"Did  you  put  your  washin'  out  today?" 

"No,  did  you?" 

"No,  I  thought  it  looked  too  rainy." 

"So  did  I.    I  hope  it'll  clear  up  by  mornin'." 

"Have  you  got  your  baby  to  sleep  yet?" 

"Land!  yes.  He  goes  to  sleep  right  after 
supper." 

"Mine's  not  that  kind  of  a  kid.  He's  wider 
awake  than  any  of  us  this  minute." 

"Got  your  dress  cut  out  ?" 

"No,  maybe  I'll  git  around  to  it  tomorrow  af- 
ternoon, if  I  don't  have  forty  other  things  to  do." 

"Did  ye  hear  about  — " 


168  THE  STORY  OF  A 

Seeing  no  chance  to  get  in  the  doctor  re- 
treated. Half  an  hour  later  he  rang  again.  A 
giggle  and  a  loud  girlish  voice  in  his  ear  ask- 
ing, "Is  this  you,  Nettie?" 

"This  is  me." 

"Do  you  know  who  this  is?" 

"Course  I  do." 

"Bet  ye  don't." 

"Bet  I  do." 

"Who?" 

"It's  Mollie,  of  course." 

"You've  guessed  it.  I  tried  to  change  my  voice 
so  you  wouldn't  know  me." 

"What  fer?" 

"Oh,  cat-fur  to  make  kitten  breeches." 

Mild  laughter. 

"I  heard  that  you  gave  Jake  the  mitten  last 
night." 

"Who  told  ye?" 

"Oh,  a  little  bird." 

"Say!    WhorftWtellye?" 

"You'll  never,  never  tell  if  I  do?" 

The  clock  near  the  patiently  waiting  doctor 
struck  nine  quick  short  strokes. 

"Did  you  hear  that?"  asked  the  first  voice, 
startled. 

"Whose  clock  is  that?" 

"Johnson's  haven't  got  one  like  that." 

"Miller's  haven't  neither." 

"I'll  tell  you  —  it's  Gray's  —  their  clock  strikes 
quick  like  that." 


DOCTOR'S  TELEPHONE  169 

"Then  there's  somebody  at  their  'phone  lis- 
tenin' !" 

"Goodness  !     Maybe  it's  Jake,  just  like  him !" 

"Jake  Gray,  if  that's  you,  you're  a  mean  eaves- 
droppin'  sneak  an'  that's  what  I  think  of  you! 
Good-bye,  Nettie."  And  as  the  receiver  slammed 
into  its  place  the  doctor  shook  with  laughter. 

"This  seems  to  be  my  opportunity,"  he 
thought,  then  rang  and  delivered  the  message  to 
his  wife.  Often  these  dialogues  kept  him  from 
hearing  or  delivering  some  important  message 
and  then  he  fumed  inwardly,  but  tonight  he  had 
time  to  spare  and  to  laugh. 


After  a  little  the  'phone  rang.  "It's  someone 
wanting  you,  Doctor,"  said  the  man  of  the  house 
who  answered  it.  The  doctor  went. 

"Is  this  you,  Doctor  Blank?" 

"Yes." 

"I  want  you — " 

The  doctor  heard  no  more.  This  was  a  party 
line  and  every  receiver  on  it  came  down.  A 
dozen  people  were  listening  to  find  out  who 
wanted  the  doctor  and  what  for.  All  on  the  line 
knew  that  Doctor  Blank  had  been  at  the  Gray 
farmhouse  for  hours.  The  message  being  pri- 
vate, there  was  silence.  The  doctor  waited  a 
minute  then  his  wrath  burst  forth. 

"Damn  it!  Hang  up  your  receivers,  all  you 
eavesdroppers,  so  I  can  get  this  message!" 


1 70  THE  STORY  OF  A 

Click,  click,  click,  click,  and  lots    of  people 
mad,  but  the  doctor  got  the  message. 


Ting-a-ling-ling-ling. 

"Is  this  Mrs.  Blank?" 

"Yes." 

"I  telephoned  the  office  and  couldn't  get  the 
doctor  so  I'll  tell  you  what  I  wanted  and  you  can 
tell  him.  His  patient  down  here  in  the  country, 
Mrs.  Miller,  is  out  of  powders  and  she  wants  him 
to  send  some  down  by  Mrs.  Richards,  if  he  can 
find  her." 

"Where  is  Mrs.  Richards?" 

"She's  up  there  in  town  somewhere." 

"Does  she  know  that  the  powders  are  to  be 
sent  by  her  and  will  she  call  at  the  office?" 

"No,  I  don't  think  she  knows  anything  about 
it.  Mrs.  Miller  didn't  know  she  was  out  till  after 
she  left.  That's  all,"  and  she  was  gone. 

"All!"  echoed  Mary. 

In  a  few  minutes  when  she  thought  her  hus- 
band had  had  time  to  return  she  went  to  the 
'phone  and  told  him  he  must  go  out  and  hunt  up 
Mrs.  Richards. 

"What  for?" 

"Because  Mrs.  Miller  wants  you  to  find  her 
and  send  some  powders  down  by  her." 

An  explosion  came  and  Mary  retired  laughing 
and  marvelling  to  what  strange  uses  telephones 
—  and  doctors  —  are  put. 


DOCTOR'S  TELEPHONE  171 


CHAPTER  XII. 

It  was  a  lovely  morning  in  late  September. 
The  sun  almost  shone  through  the  film  of  light 
gray  clouds  which  lay  serenely  over  all  the  heav- 
ens. There  was  a  golden  gleam  in  the  at- 
mosphere, 

"And  a  tender  touch  upon  everything 
As  if  Autumn  remembered  the  days  of  Spring." 

The  doctor  and  his  wife  were  keenly  alive  to 
the  beauty  of  the  day.  After  they  had  driven 
several  miles  they  stopped  before  a  little  brown 
house.  The  doctor  said  he  would  like  Mary  to 
go  in  and  she  followed  him  into  the  low-ceiled 
room. 

"Here,  you  youngsters,  go  out  into  the  yard," 
said  the  mother  of  the  children.  "There  ain't 
room  to  turn  around  when  you  all  get  in."  They 
went.  A  baby  seven  or  eight  months  old  sat  on 
the  floor  and  stared  up  at  Mary  as  she  seated 
herself  near  it.  Two  women  of  the  neighbor- 
hood sat  solemnly  near  by.  The  doctor  ap- 
proached the  bed  on  which  a  young  woman  of 
eighteen  or  twenty  years  was  lying. 

"My  heart  hain't  beat  for  five  minutes,"  she 
said. 

"Is  that  so  ?"  said  the  doctor,  quite  calm  in  the 


i;2  THE  STORY  OF  A 

face  of  an  announcement  so  startling.  "Well, 
we'll  have  to  start  it  up  again." 

"That's  the  first  time  she  has  spoke  since  yes- 
terday morning/'  said  one  of  the  solemn  women 
in  a  low  tone  to  the  doctor. 

"It  didn't  hurt  her  to  keep  still.  She  could 
have  spoken  if  she  had  wanted  to."  The  two 
women  looked  at  each  other.  "No,  she  couldn't 
speak,  Doctor,"  said  one  of  them. 

"Oh,  yes  she  could,"  replied  the  doctor  with 
great  nonchalance. 

"I  couldn't!"  said  the  patient  with  much  vigor. 
This  was  just  what  he  wanted.  He  examined 
her  carefully  but  said  not  a  word. 

"How  long  do  you  think  I'll  live?"  she  asked 
after  a  little. 

"Well,  that's  a  hard  question  to  answer — but 
you  ought  to  be  good  for  forty  or  fifty  years  yet." 

The  patient  sniffed  contemptuously.  "Huh,  I 
guess  you  don't  know  it  all  if  you  are  a  doctor." 

"I  know  enough  to  know  there's  mighty  little 
the  matter  with  you."  He  turned  to  one  of  the 
women.  "I  would  like  to  see  her  mother,"  he 
said.  The  mother  had  left  the  room  on  an  er- 
rand ;  the  woman  rose  and  went  out.  There  was 
a  pause  which  Mary  broke  by  asking  the  baby's 
name. 

"We  think  we'll  call  her  Orient." 

"Why  not  Occident?"  thought  Mary,  but  she 
kept  still.  Not  so  the  doctor.  "That's  no  name. 


DOCTOR'S  TELEPHONE  173 

Give  her  a  good  sensible  name  —  one  she  won't 
be  ashamed  of  when  she's  a  woman." 

Here  Mary  caught  sight  of  a  red  string  around 
the  baby's  neck,  and  asked  if  it  was  a  charm  of 
some  sort.  The  mother  took  hold  of  the  string 
and  drew  up  the  charm.  "It's  a  blind  hog's 
tooth,"  she  said  simply,  "to  make  her  cut  her 
teeth  easy." 

The  mother  of  the  patient  came  into  the  room. 
"How  do  you  think  she  is,  Doctor?" 

"Oh,  she'-s  not  so  sick  as  you  thought  she  was, 
not  near." 

The  mother  looked  relieved.  "She  had  an  aw- 
ful bad  spell  last  night.  Do  you  think  she  won't 
have  any  more?" 

"No,  she  won't  have  any  more."  The  look  on 
the  patient's  Jace  said  plainly,  "We'll  see  about 
that."  It  did  not  escape  the  doctor. 

"But  in  case  you  should  see  any  signs  of  a 
spell  coming  on,  and  if  she  gets  so  she  can't 
speak  again,  then  you  must  —  but  come  into  the 
next  room,"  he  said  in  a  low  voice. 

They  went  into  an  adjoining  room,  the  doctor 
taking  care  to  leave  the  door  ajar.  Then  in  a 
voice  ostensibly  low  enough  that  the  patient 
might  not  hear  and  yet  so  distinct  that  she 
could  hear  every  word,  he  delivered  his  instruc- 
tions :  "Now,  if  she  has  any  more  spells  she 
must  be  blistered  all  the  way  from  her  neck  down 
to  the  end  of  her  spine."  The  mother  looked 
terrified.  "And  if  she  gets  so  she  can't  speak 


174  THE  STORY  OF  A 

again,  it  will  be  necessary  to  put  a  seton  through 
the  back  of  her  neck." 

"What  is  a  seton?"  faltered  the  woman. 

"Oh,  it's  nothing  but  a  big  needle  six  or  eight 
inches  long,  threaded  with  coarse  cord.  It  must 
be  drawn  through  the  flesh  and  left  there  for  a 
while."  Then  in  a  tone  so  low  that  only  the 
mother  could  hear,  he  said,  "Don't  pay  much  at- 
tention to  her.  She'll  never  have  those  spells  un- 
less there  is  somebody  around  to  see  her." 

He  walked  into  the  other  room  and  took  up 
his  hat  and  case. 

"I  left  some  powders  on  the  table,"  he  said  to 
the  mother.  "You  may  give  her  one  just  be- 
fore dinner  and  another  tonight." 

"Will  it  make  any  difference  if  she  doesn't 
take  it  till  tonight?" 

"Not  a  bit." 

"Pa's  gone  and  I  didn't  'low  to  git  any  dinner 
today." 

At  this  announcement  Mary  heard  something 
between  a  sigh  and  a  groan  and  turning,  saw  a 
rosy-cheeked  boy  in  the  doorway.  There  was  a 
look  of  resigned  despair  on  his  face  and  Mary 
smiled  sympathetically  at  him  as  she  went  out. 
How  many  lads  and  lassies  could  have  sympa- 
thized with  him  too,  having  been  victims  to  that 
widespread  feeling  among  housewives  that  when 
"Pa"  is  gone  no  dinner  need  be  got  and  some- 
times not  much  supper. 

As  the  doctor  and  his  wife  started  down  the 


DOCTOR'S  TELEPHONE  175 

walk  they  heard  a  voice  say,  "Ma,  don't  you  ever 
send  for  that  smart-aleck  doctor  agin.  I  won't 
have  him."  The  doctor  shook  with  laughter 
as  he  untied  the  horse. 

"They  won't  need  to  send  for  me  'agin.'  I 
like  to  get  hold  of  a  fine  case  of  hysterics  once 
in  a  while  —  it  makes  things  lively." 

"The  treatment  you  prescribed  was  certainly 
heroic  enough,"  said  Mary. 

They  had  driven  about  a  mile,  when,  in  pass- 
ing a  house  a  young  man  signaled  the  doctor  to 
stop.  "Mother  has  been  bleeding  at  the  nose  a 
good  deal,"  he  said,  coming  down  to  the  gate. 
"I  wish  you  would  stop  and  see  her.  She'll  be 
glad  to  see  you,  too,  Mrs.  Blank." 

They  were  met  at  the  door  by  a  little  old  wo- 
man in  a  rather  short  dress  and  in  rather  large 
ear-rings.  Her  husband,  two  grown  daughters 
and  three  children  sat  and  stood  in  the  room. 

"So  you've  been  bleeding  at  the  nose,  Mrs. 
Haig?"  said  the  doctor,  looking  at  his  patient 
who  now  sat  down. 

"Yes,  sir,  and  it's  a-gittin'  me  down.  I've 
been  in  bed  part  of  the  day." 

"It's  been  bleedin'  off  and  on  for  two  days 
and  nights,"  said  the  husband. 

"Did  you  try  pretty  hard  to  stop  it  ?" 

"Yes,  sir,  I  tried  everything  I  ever  heerd  tell 
of,  and  everything  the  neighbors  wanted  me  to 
try,  but  it  didn't  do  no  good." 

"Open  the  door  and  sit  here  where  I  can  have 


i;6  THE  STORY  OF  A 

a  good  light  to  examine  your  nose  by,"  the  doc- 
tor said  to  the  patient.  She  brought  her  chair 
and  the  young  man  opened  the  door.  As  he  did 
so  there  was  a  mad  rush  between  the  old  man 
and  his  two  daughters  for  the  door  opposite. 

"Shet  that  door,  quick !"  the  old  man  shouted, 
and  it  was  instantly  done.  Mary  looked  around 
with  frightened  eyes.  Had  some  wild  beast  es- 
caped from  a  passing  menagerie  and  was  it  com- 
ing in  to  devour  the  household?  There  was  a 
swirl  of  ashes  and  sparks  from  the  big  fireplace. 

"This  is  the  blamedest  house  that  ever  was 
built,"  said  Mr.  Haig. 

"Who  built  it  ?"  queried  the  doctor. 

"I  built  it  myself  and  like  a  derned  fool  went 
an'  put  the  fireplace  right  between  these  two 
outside  doors,  so  if  you  open  one  an'  the  other 
happens  to  be  open  the  fire  and  ashes  just  flies." 

The  doctor  took  an  instrument  from  his  pocket 
and  proceeded  with  his  examination. 

"But  there's  a  house  back  here  on  the  hill 
about  a  mile  that  beats  this,"  said  the  old  man. 

"That  is  a  queer-looking  house,"  said  Mary. 
"It  has  no  front  door  at  all." 

"No  side  door,  neither.  When  a  feller  wants 
to  get  in  that  house  there's  just  one  of  three 
ways:  he  has  to  go  around  and  through  the 
kitchen,  or  through  a  winder,  or  down  the 
chimney." 

"If  he  was  little  enough  he  might  go  through 


DOCTOR'S  TELEPHONE  177 

the  cat-hole,"  suggested  the  young  man,  at  which 
they  all  laughed. 

"And  what  may  that  be?"  asked  the  mysti- 
fied Mary. 

"It's  a  square  hole  cut  in  the  bottom  of  the 
door  for  the  cat  to  go  in  and  out  at.  The  man 
that  owns  the  place  said  he  believed  in  having 
things  handy." 

"Now,  let  me  see  your  throat,"  said  the  doc- 
tor. The  patient  opened  her  mouth  to  such  an 
amazing  extent  that  the  doctor  said,  "No,  I  will 
stand  on  the  outside!"  which  made  Mary 
ashamed  of  him,  but  the  old  couple  laughed  heart- 
ily. They  had  known  this  doctor  a  good  many 
years. 

"What  have  you  been  doing  to  stop  the  bleed- 
ing?" he  asked. 

"I've  been  a-tryin'  charms  and  conjurin', 
mostly." 

Mary  saw  that  there  was  no  smile  on  her  face 
or  on  any  other  face  in  the  room.  She  spoke  in 
a  sincere  and  matter-of-fact  way.  "Old  Uncle 
Peter,  down  here  a  piece,  has  cured  many  a  case 
of  nose-bleed  but  he  hain't  'peared  to  help  mine." 

"How  does  he  go  about  it  ?"  asked  Mary. 

"W'y,  don't  you  know  nothin'  'bout  con- 
jurin'?" 

"Nothing  at  all." 

"I  thought  you  bein'  a  doctor's  wife  would 
know  things  like  that." 


178  THE  STORY  OF  A 

"I  don't  believe  my  husband  practises  con- 
juring much." 

"Well,  Uncle  Peter  takes  the  Bible,  and  opens 
it,  and  says  some  words  over  it,  and  pretty  soon 
the  bleedin'  stops." 

"Which  stops  it,  the  Bible  or  the  words?" 

"W'y — both  I  reckon,  but  the  words  does  the 
most  of  it.  They're  the  charm  and  nobody 
knows  'em  but  him." 

"Where  did  he  learn  them  ?" 

"His  father  was  a  conjurer  and  when  he  died 
he  toF  the  words  to  Uncle  Peter  an'  give  the 
power  to  him." 

"Did  he  come  up  here  to  conjure  you?"  asked 
the  doctor. 

"No,  he  says  he  can  do  it  just  as  well  at  home." 

"He  can.  But  I  think  we  can  stop  the  bleed- 
ing without  bothering  Uncle  Peter  any  more.  I'd 
like  a  pair  of  scissors,"  he  said,  meaning  to  cut 
some  papers  for  powders. 

"They  won't  do  no  good.     I've  tried  'em." 

"What  do  you  think  I  want  with  them  ?" 

"I  'lowed  you  wanted  to  put  'em  under  the 
piller.  That'll  cure  nose-bleed  lots  of  times. 
Maybe  you  don't  believe  it,  but  it's  so." 

"Can  Uncle  Peter  cure  other  things?"  asked 
Mary. 

"He  can  that.  My  nephew  had  the  chills  last 
year  and  shook  and  shook.  At  last  he  went  to 
Uncle  Peter  an'  he  cured  him." 

"He  shot  'em,"  said  Mr.  Haig. 


DOCTOR'S  TELEPHONE  179 

"Yes,  he  told  him  to  take  sixteen  shot  every 
mornin'  for  sixteen  days  and  by  the  time  he  got 
through  he  didn't  shake  a  bit." 

"By  jings!  he  was  so  heavy  he  couldn't,"  said 
Mr.  Haig,  and  in  the  laugh  that  followed  the  doc- 
tor and  his  wife  rose  to  go.  A  neighboring  wo- 
man with  a  baby  in  her  arms  had  come  in  and 
seated  herself  near  the  door.  As  he  passed  out 
the  doctor  stopped  to  inquire,  "How's  that  sore 
breast?  You  haven't  been  back  again." 

"It's  about  well.  William  found  a  mole  at 
last  and  when  I  put  the  skin  of  it  on  my  breast 
it  cured  it.  I  knowed  it  would,  but  when  we 
wanted  a  mole  there  wasn't  none  to  be  found,  so 
I  had  to  go  and  see  you  about  it." 

"I  thought  it  would  soon  be  well.  Good  for 
the  mole-skin,"  laughed  the  doctor,  as  they  took 
their  leave. 

When  they  had  started  homeward  they  looked 
at  each  other,  the  doctor  with  a  smile  in  his  eyes 
—  he  had  encountered  this  sort  of  thing  so  often 
in  his  professional  life  that  he  was  quite  accus- 
tomed to  it.  But  Mary's  brown  eyes  were  seri- 
ous. "John,"  she  said,  "when  will  the  reign  of 
ignorance  and  superstition  end?" 

"When  Time  shall  be  no  more,  my  dear." 

"So  it  seems.  Those  people,  while  lacking  edu- 
cation, seem  to  be  fairly  intelligent  and  yet  their 
lives  are  dominated  by  things  like  these." 

"Yes,  and  not  only  people  of  fair  intelligence 
but  of  fair  education  too.  While  they  would 


i8o  THE  STORY  OF  A 

laugh  at  what  we  saw  and  heard  back  there  they 
are  holding  fast  to  things  equally  senseless  and 
ridiculous.  Then  there  are  thoroughly  educated 
and  cultured  people  holding  fast  to  little  super- 
stitions which  had  their  birth  in  ignorance  away 
back  in  the  past  somewhere.  How  many  people 
do  you  know  who  want  to  see  the  new  moon  over 
the  left  shoulder?  And  didn't  I  hear  you  com- 
manding Jack  just  the  other  day  to  take  the 
hoe  right  out  of  the  house  and  to  go  out  the 
same  door  he  came  in  ?" 

"O,  ye-es,  but  then  nobody  wants  to  have  a  hoe 
carried  through  the  house,  John.  It's  such  a 
bad  sign — " 

The  doctor  laughed.  "This  thing  is  so  wide- 
spread there  seems  to  be  no  hope  of  eliminating 
it  entirely  though  I  believe  physicians  are  doing 
more  than  anybody  else  toward  crushing  it  out." 

"Can  they  reason  and  argue  people  out  of 
these  things?" 

"Not  often.  Good-natured  ridicule  is  an  ef- 
fective shaft  and  one  I  like  to  turn  upon  them 
sometimes.  They  get  so  they  don't  want  to  say 
those  things  to  me,  and  so  perhaps  they  get  to 
see  after  a  while  that  it  is  just  as  well  not  to 
say  them  too  often  to  other  people,  too." 

"Don't  drive  so  fast,  John,  the  day  is  too  glori- 
ous." 

Yellow  butterflies  flitted  hither  and  thither 
down  the  road ;  the  corn  in  the  fields  was  turning 
brown  and  out  from  among  it  peeped  here  and 


DOCTOR'S  TELEPHONE  181 

there  a  pumpkin;  the  trees  in  apple  orchards 
were  bending  low  with  their  rosy  and  golden 
treasures.  They  passed  a  pool  of  water  and  saw 
reflected  there  the  purple  asters  blooming  above 
it.  By  and  by  the  doctor  turned  down  a  grassy 
road  leading  up  to  a  farmhouse  a  short  distance 
away.  "Are  you  to  make  another  call  today?" 
asked  his  wife. 

"Yes,  there  is  a  very  sick  child  here." 

When  he  had  gone  inside  three  or  four  chil- 
dren came  out.  A  curly-headed  little  girl  edged 
close  and  looked  up  into  Mary's  face. 

"Miss5  Blank,  you  know  where  Mr.  Blank  got 
our  baby,  don't  you?" 

Mary,  smiling  down  at  the  little  questioner, 
said,  "The  doctor  didn't  tell  me  anything  about 
it."  The  little  faces  looked  surprised  and  disap- 
pointed. 

"We  thought  you'd  know  an'  we  come  out  to 
ask  you,"  said  another  little  girl.  "You  make 
all  the  babies'  dresses,  don't  you?" 

"Dear  me,  no  indeed !"  laughed  the  doctor's 
wife. 

"Does  he  keep  all  the  babies  at  your  house?" 
asked  the  little  boy. 

"I  think  not.     I  never  see  them  there." 

"Didn't  he  ever  bring  any  to  your  house  ?" 

"Oh,  yes,  five  of  them." 

"I'd  watch  and  see  where  he  gets  'em,"  said 
the  little  fellow  stoutly.  "Jimmie  Brown  said 


182  THE  STORY  OF  A 

Mr.  Blank  found  their  baby  down  in  the  woods 
in  an  old  holler  log." 

The  doctor  came  out,  and  the  little  boy  look- 
ing up  at  him  asked,  "Is  they  any  more  babies 
down  in  the  woods?" 

"Yes,  yes,  'the  woods  is  full  of  'em/  "  laughed 
the  doctor  as  he  drove  off  leaving  the  little  group 
quite  unsatisfied. 

When  they  had  gone  some  distance  two  wag- 
ons appeared  on  the  brow  of  the  hill  in  front  of 
them.  "Hold  on,  Doctor,"  shouted  the  first 
driver,  as  the  doctor  was  driving  rapidly  by,  "I 
want  to  sell  you  a  watermelon." 

"Will  you  take  your  pay  in  pills?" 

"Don't  b'lieve  I  have  any  use  for  pills." 

"Don't  want  one  then,  I'm  broke  this  morn- 
ing," and  he  passed  the  second  wagon  and  pulled 
his  horse  into  the  road  again. 

"Wait  a  minute!  I'll  trade  you  a  melon  for 
some  pills,"  called  the  driver.  He  spread  the 
reins  over  the  dashboard  and  clambered  down ; 
the  man  in  front  looked  back  at  him  with  a  grin. 
"I've  got  two  kinds  here,  the  Cyclone  and  the 
Monarch,  which  would  you  rather  have?" 

"Oh,  I  don't  care,"  said  the  doctor. 

"Let  us  have  a  Monarch,  please,"  said  Mary. 
Monarch  was  a  prettier  name  than  Cyclone,  and 
besides  there  was  no  sense  in  giving  so  violent 
a  name  to  so  peaceful  a  thing  as  a  watermelon. 
So  the  Monarch  was  brought  and  deposited  in 
the  back  of  the  buggy. 


DOCTOR'S  TELEPHONE  183 

The  doctor  opened  his  case.  "Take  your 
choice." 

"What  do  you  call  this  kind?" 

"I  call  that  kind  Little  Devils." 

"How  many  of  'em  would  a  feller  dare  take 
at  once?" 

"Well,  I  wouldn't  take  more  than  three  unless 
you  have  a  lawyer  handy  to  make  your  will." 

"Why,  will  they  hurt  me  ?" 

"They'll  bring  the  answer  if  you  take  enough 
of  'em." 

The  man  eyed  the  pills  dubiously,  —  "I  be- 
lieve I'll  let  that  kind  alone.  What  kind  is  this  ?" 

"These  are  podophyllin  pills." 

"Gee,  the  name's  enough  to  kill  a  feller." 

"Well,  Morning-Glories  is  a  good  name.  If 
you  take  too  many  you'll  be  wafted  straight  to 
glory  in  the  morning,  and  the  road  will  be  a 
little  rough  in  places." 

"Confound  it,  Jake,"  called  the  first  driver, 
"don't  you  take  none  of  'em.  Don't  monkey  with 
'em."  But  Jake  had  agreed  to  trade  a  melon  for 
pills.  He  held  out  his  big  hand.  "Pour  me  out 
some  of  them  Little  Devils.  I'll  risk  'em." 

The  doctor  emptied  the  small  bottle  into  Jake's 
hand,  replaced  it  in  the  case  and  drove  off. 

"John,  why  in  the  world  didn't  you  give  him 
some  instructions  as  to  how  to  take  them  ?"  asked 
Mary,  energetically. 

"He  didn't  ask  me  to  prescribe  for  him,  my 


184  THE  STORY  OF  A 

dear.  He  wanted  to  trade  a  watermelon  for  pills 
and  we  traded." 

"For  pity's^ sake,"  said  Mary  indignantly,  "and 
you're  going  to  let  that  man  kill  himself  while 
you  strain  at  a  point  of  professional  etiquette!" 
She  was  gazing  back  at  the  unfortunate  man. 

"Don't  you  worry,  he'll  be  too  much  afraid 
of  them  to  hurt  himself  with  them,"  said  the  doc- 
tor, laughing. 

"I  sincerely  hope  he  will." 

As  they  came  in  sight  of  home  the  doctor, 
who  had  been  silent  for  some  time,  sighed  heav- 
ily. "I  am  thinking  of  that  little  child  out  there. 
I  tell  you,  Mary,  a  case  of  meningitis  makes  a 
man  feel  his  Imitations." 


DOCTOR'S  TELEPHONE  185 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

A  long,  importunate  peal.     The  doctor  rose 
and  went  swiftly.     Mary  listened  with  interest 

to  what  was  to  come: 
«p»> 

"Yes." 
«?» 

"Yes." 
"?" 

"Yes." 
"?" 

"Yes." 
"?" 
"Yes." 
He  rang  off. 

"That  was   decided  in  the  affirmative,"  said 
Mary. 


Ting-a-ling-ling-ling.         Ting-a-ling-ling-ling. 

"Doctor,  do  you  think  the  baby  will  cut  any 
more  teeth  this  summer?" 

"You'd  better  ring  up  Solomon  and  ask  that." 

"Well  —  if  he  gets  through  teething  —  don't 
you  think  he'll  be  all  right?" 

"If  he  gets  through  with  the  way  you  feed  him 
he'll  be  all  right." 


186  THE  STORY  OF  A 

"Well,  his  teething  has  lots  to  do  with  it." 
"No,  it  don't  —  not  a  darned  bit.  If  you'll 
take  care  of  his  stomach  his  teeth  will  take  care 
of  themselves.  It's  what  goes  between  the  teeth 
that  does  the  mischief.  I  keep  telling  people  that 
every  day,  and  once  in  a  while  I  find  someone 
with  sense  enough  to  believe  it.  But  a  lot  of  'em 
know  too  much  —  then  the  baby  has  to  pay 
for  it." 

"Well,  I'll  be  awful  careful,  Doctor." 
"All  right  then.     And  stick  right  to  the  baby 
through  the  hot  months.     Let  me  hear  from  it. 
Good-bye." 


Ting-a-ling-ling-ling  —  three  times.  Mary  rose 
and  went.  An  agitated  voice  said,  "Come  and 
see  the  baby!"  and  was  gone.  "She  is  terribly 
frightened,"  thought  Mary,  as  she  rang  central. 

"Some  one  rang  Dr.  Blank.  Can  you  find 
out  who  it  was?" 

"I'm  afraid  not." 

"Will  you  please  try?" 

"Yes,  but  people  ought  to  do  their  own  talk- 
ing and  not  bother  us  so  much." 

"I  know,"  said  Mary  gently,  "but  this  is  a 
mother  badly  frightened  about  her  baby  —  she 
did  not  think  what  she  was  doing  and  left  the 
'phone  without  giving  me  her  name." 

Central  tried  with  such  good  result  that  Mary 
was  soon  in  possession  of  the  name  and  number. 


DOCTOR'S  TELEPHONE  187 

She  telephoned  that  she  would  send  the  doctor 
down  as  soon  as  she  could  find  him,  which  she 
thought  would  be  in  a  few  minutes.     Then  she 
telephoned  a  house  where  he  had  been  for  sev- 
eral days  making  evening  visits. 
"Is  Dr.  Blank  there  ?" 
"He  was  here.    He's  just  gone." 
"Is  he  too  far  away  for  you  to  call  him?" 
"Run  and  see,  Tommy." 
Silence.    Then,  "Yes,  he's  got  too  far  to  hear. 
I'm  sorry." 

"Very  well     Thank  you." 
"Let  me  see,"  she  meditated,  "yes,  I  think  he 
goes  there." 

She  got  the  house.    "Is  Dr.  Blank  there  ?" 
"He's  just  coming  through  the  gate." 
"Please  ask  him  to  come  to  the  'phone."    After 
a  minute  his  voice  asked  what  was  wanted  and 
Mary  delivered  her  message. 

When  her  husband  came  home  that  night,  she 
said,  "John,  there's  one  more  place  you're  to  go 
and  you're  to  be  there  at  nine  o'clock." 

"The  deuce!"  he  looked  at  his  watch,  "ten 
minutes  to  nine  now.    Where  is  it  ?" 
"I  don't  know." 
"Don't  know?" 

"No.    I  haven't  the  slightest  idea." 
"Why  didn't  you  find  out,"  he  asked,  sharply. 
Mary  arched  her  brows.    "Suppose  you  find  out." 
John  rang  central.     With  twinkling  eyes  his 
wife  listened. 


i88  THE  STORY  OF  A 

"Hello,  central.  Who  was  calling  Dr.  Blank  a 
while  ago?" 

"A  good  many  people  call,  Dr.  Blank.  I  really 
cannot  say." 

THe  voice  was  icily  regular,  spendidly  null.  It 
nettled  the  doctor. 

"Suppose  you  try  to  find  out." 

"People  who  need  a  doctor  ought  to  be  as 
much  interested  as  we  are.  I  don't  know  who 
it  was."  And  the  receiver  went  up. 

"Damned  impudence!"  said  the  doctor,  slam- 
ming up  his  receiver  and  facing  about. 

"Wait,  John.  That  girl  has  had  to  run  down 
the  woman  with  the  sick  baby.  She  didn't  give 
her  name  either.  Central  had  lots  of  trouble  in 
finding  her.  It's  small  wonder  she  rebelled  when 
I  came  at  her  the  second  time.  So  all  I  could 
do  was  to  deliver  the  message  just  as  it  came, 
'Tell  the  doctor  to  come  down  to  our  house  and 
to  be  here  at  nine  o'clock.' " 

"Consultation,  I  suppose.  They'll  ring  again 
pretty  soon,  I  dare  say,  and  want  to  know  why 
I  don't  hurry  up." 

But  nothing  further  was  heard  from  the  mes- 
sage or  the  messenger  that  night  or  ever  after. 


Ting-a-ling-ling-ling. 

Can  we  move  Henry  out  into  the  yard?    It's 
so  hot  inside. 


DOCTOR'S  TELEPHONE  189 

Ting-a-ling-ling-ling. 

Can  we  move  Jennie  into  the  house?  It  gets 
pretty  cold  along  toward  morning. 

Ting-a-ling-ling-ling. 

Doctor,  you  know  those  pink  tablets  you  left? 
I  forget  just  how  you  said  to  take  'em. 

Ting-a-ling-ling-ling. 

The  baby's  throwing  up  like  everything. 

Ting-a-ling-ling-ling. 

Johnny's  swallowed  a  nickel ! . . . .  You  say  it 
won't  ? . . .  .  And  not  give  him  anything  at  all  ? 
Well,  I  needn't  have  been  so  scared,  then. 

Ting-a-ling-ling-ling. 

The  baby  pulled  the  cat's  tail  and  she  scratched 
her  in  the  face.  I'm  afraid  she's  put  her  eye 

out No,  the  baby's  eye.  I'm  afraid  she 

can't  see No,  she's  not  crying.  She's  going 

to  sleep Well,  I  guess  she  can't  see  very 

well  with  her  eyes  shut Then  you  won't 

come  down? All  right,  Doctor,  you  know 

best. 

Ting-a-ling-ling-ling.         Ting-a-ling-ling-ling. 

"Is  this  the  doctor?" 

"Yes." 

"The  baby  has  a  cold  and  I  rubbed  her  chest 
with  vaseline  and  greased  her  nose.  Is  that  all 
right?" 

"All  right." 


190  THE  STORY  OF  A 

"And  I  am  going  to  make  her  some  onion 
syrup,  if  I  can  remember  how  it's  made.  How 
do  you  make  it?" 

"Why  —  O,  you  remember  how  to  make  it." 

The  truth  is  the  doctor  was  not  profoundly 
learned  in  some  of  the  "home  remedies"  and  was 
more  helpless  than  the  little  mother  herself, 
which  she  did  not  suspect. 

"You  slice  the  onions  and  put  sugar  on  them, 
don't  you?" 

"Yes,  that'll  be  all  right,"  he  said,  hastily  put- 
ting up  the  receiver. 

Ting-a-ling-ling-ling. 

"Doctor,  when  you  come  down,  bring  some- 
thing for  my  fever  — " 

"Yes,  I  will !" 

"And  for  my  nervousness  — " 

"Yes,  yes."  The  doctor  turned  quickly  from 
the  'phone,  but  it  rang  again. 

"And  for  my  back,  Doctor  — " 

"Yes.  Yes!"  He  put  the  receiver  up  with  a 
bang  and  seizing  his  hat  rushed  away  before 
there  should  be  any  more. 


Three  rings. 

"Is  this  Dr.  Blank's?" 

"Yes." 

"Is  he  there?" 

"No,  but  I  expect  him  very  soon.' 


DOCTOR'S  TELEPHONE  191 

"When  he  comes  will  you  tell  him  to  come 
out  to  Frank  Tiller's?" 

"Does  he  know  where  that  is  ?" 

"He  was  here  once." 

"Lately?" 

"No,  some  time  ago." 

"Please  tell  me  what  street  you  live  on,  so  the 
doctor  will  know  where  to  go."  Mary  heard  a 
consultation  of  a  minute. 

"It's  on  Oak  street." 

"East  Oak  or  West?"     Another  consultation. 

"North." 

"Very  well.  I'll  tell  the  doctor  as  soon  as  he 
comes." 

"Tell  him  to  come  as  quick  as  he  possibly  can." 

Five  minutes  later  the  office  ring  came.  Mary 
went  obediently  lest  her  husband  might  not  be 
in.  She  heard  the  same  voice  ask,  "Is  this  you, 
Doctor?" 

"Yes." 

"We  want  you  to  come  out  to  Frank  Tiller's 
as  quick  as  you  possibly  can." 

"Where  is  that?" 

"You've  been  here." 

"Where  do  you  live!" 

"We  live  on  Oak  street." 

"East  or  West?" 

"North." 

"That  street  runs  east  and  west!" 

"Ma,  he  says  the  street  runs  east  and  west." 

"Well  maybe  it  does.  I've  not  got  my  di- 
rections here  yet  —  then  it  must  be  west." 


192  THE  STORY  OF  A 

"It's  on  West  Oak  street,  Doctor." 

The  doctor  was  not  quite  able  to  locate  the 
place  yet. 

"Is  it  the  house  where  the  girl  had  the  sore 
throat  ?" 

"Ma,  he  says,  is  it  the  place  where  the  girl  had 
the  sore  throat?" 

"It's  just  in  front  of  that  house." 

"She  says  it's  just  in  front  of  that  house  and 
come  just  as  quick  as  you  possibly  can." 

"What  does  she  mean  by  'in  front  of  it'?" 

"Why,  it's  just  across  the  street,  and  come 
just  as  quick  as  you  possibly — " 

"Yes.    I'll  run" 

Mary  smiled,  but  she  was  glad  to  hear  her  hus- 
band add  a  little  more  pleasantly,  "I'll  be  out 
there  after  a  little." 

When  he  came  home  he  said,  laughing,  "That 
girl  up  there  took  the  medicine  I  gave  her  and 
pounded  the  bottle  to  flinders  before  my  eyes." 

"What  for?" 

"O,  she  was  mad." 

"What  did  you  do  then  ?" 

"Reached  down  in  my  pocket  and  took  out 
another  one  just  like  it  and  told  them  to  give 
it  according  to  directions." 

"Nothing  like  being  prepared." 

"I  knew  pretty  well  what  I  was  up  against  be- 
fore I  went.  The  old  complaint,"  said  John, 
drawing  on  his  slippers  as  he  spoke. 


DOCTOR'S  TELEPHONE  193 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

Mary  had  been  down  the  street,  shopping. 
"I'll  drop  in  and  visit  with  John  a  few  minutes," 
she  thought,  as  she  drew  near  the  office.  When 
she  entered  her  husband  was  at  the  telephone 
with  his  back  toward  her. 

"Hello.    What  is  it?" 

"Shake  up  your  'phone,  I  can't  hear  a  word 
you're  saying." 

"Who?" 

"Oh,  yes,  7  know."  Exasperation  was  in  every 
letter  of  every  word. 

"Take  one  every  six  months  and  let  me  hear 
from  you  when  they're  all  gone."  Slam !  "There's 
always  some  damned  thing,"  he  muttered,  and 
turning  faced  his  wife. 

"A  surprising  prescription,  John.  What  does 
it  mean  ?" 

"It  means  that  she's  one  of  these  everlasting 
complainers  and  that  I'm  tired  of  hearing  her. 
She's  been  to  Chicago  and  St.  Louis  and  Cincin- 
nati. She's  had  three  or  four  laparotomies  and 
every  time  she  comes  back  to  me  with  a  longer 
story  and  a  worse  one.  They've  got  about 
everything  but  her  appendix  and  they'll  get  that 
if  she  don't  watch  out." 


I94  THE  STORY  OF  A 

"Why,  I  thought  they  always  got  that  the  first 
thing." 

"You  have  no  idea  how  it  tires  a  man  to  have 
people  come  to  him  and  complain,  complain, 
complain.  The  story  is  ever  new  to  them  but  it 
gets  mighty  old  to  the  doctor.  Then  they  go 
away  to  the  city  and  some  surgeon  with  a  great 
name  does  what  may  seem  to  him  to  be  best. 
Sometimes  they  come  back  improved,  some- 
times not,  and  sometimes  they  come  back  worse 
than  when  they  went.  In  all  probability  the  op- 
erator never  sees  the  patient  again  and  so  the 
last  chapters  of  the  story  must  be  told  to  the 
home  doctor  over  and  over  again." 

Mary  gave  a  little  sigh.    The  doctor  went  on : 

"In  many  cases  it  isn't  treatment  of  any  kind 
that  is  needed.  It  is  occupation — occupation 
for  the  mind  and  for  the  hands.  Something  that 
will  make  people  forget  themselves  in  their  work 
or  in  their  play."  ^ 

Ting-a-ling-ling-ling.         Ting-a-ling-ling-ling. 

"Is  this  you,  Doctor?" 

"Yes." 

"I  wanted  to  see  if  you  were  at  the  office.  I'll 
be  over  there  right  away." 

In  a  few  minutes  the  door  opened  and  a  gentle- 
man about  thirty-five  years  of  age  entered.  His 
manner  was  greatly  agitated  and  he  did  not  no- 
tice Mrs.  Blank  at  the  window  near  the  corner 
of  the  room. 


DOCTOR'S  TELEPHONE  195 

"Good  morning,  Mr.  Blake,"  said  the  doctor, 
shaking  hands  with  him,  "back  again,  are  you  ?" 

Mr.  Blake  had  been  to  C — ,  his  native  city. 
He  had  not  been  well  for  some  time  and  had 
evinced  a  desire  to  go  back  and  consult  his  old 
physician  there,  in  which  Dr.  Blank  had  heartily 
concurred. 

"How  long  do  you  think  I  can  live?"  Mr. 
Blake  asked  now. 

"What  do  you  mean?"  replied  the  doctor,  re- 
garding him  closely. 

"I  want  to  know  how  much  time  I  have.  I 
want  to  get  my  business  fixed  up  before  — 

"Blake,  you  couldn't  die  if  you  wanted  to. 
You're  not  a  sick  enough  man  for  that." 

The  patient  took  a  letter  from  his  pocket  and 
handed  it  in  silence  to  the  doctor.  The  latter 
took  it,  looked  carefully  at  the  superscription, 
read  it  slowly  through,  then  folded  it  with  cool 
deliberation  and  put  it  back  into  the  envelope. 

"I  thought  you  were  going  to  your  old  phy- 
sician," he  said. 

"Dr.  Kenton  was  out  of  the  city  so  I  went  to 
the  great  specialist." 

"Did  he  tell  you  what  was  in  this  letter  he  sent 
to  me  ?" 

"No,  but  the  letter  was  not  sealed  and  I  read 
it.     I  was  so  anxious  to  know  his  opinion  that 
I  couldn't  help  it.    Tuberculosis  of  the  larynx — ' 
his  voice  faltered. 

"Yes,"  said  the  doctor,  calmly,  "that  is  a  thing 


196  THE  STORY  OF  A 

a  man  may  well  be  frightened  about.  But  listen 
to  me,  Blake.  You've  not  got  tuberculosis  of  the 
larynx." 

"Do  you  think  a  great  physician  like  Dr.  Went- 
worth  doesn't  know  what  he  is  talking  about  ?" 

"Dr.  Wentworth  is  a  great  physician;  I  know 
him  well.  But  he  is  only  a  man  like  the  rest  of 
us  and  therefore  liable  to  err  in  judgment  some- 
times. He  knew  you  half  an  hour,  perhaps,  be- 
fore he  pronounced  upon  your  case.  I  have 
known  you  and  watched  you  for  fifteen  years.  I 
say  you  have  not  got  tuberculosis  and  I  know  I 
am  right." 

Mary  saw  Mr.  Blake  grasp  her  husband's 
hand  with  a  look  in  his  face  that  made  her  think 
within  herself,  "Blessings  on  the  country  doctor 
wherever  he  may  be,  who  has  experience  and 
knowledge  and  wisdom  enough  to  draw  just  and 
true  conclusions  of  his  own  and  bravely  state 
them  when  occasion  demands." 

When  the  patient  had  gone  Mary  said  to  her 
husband,  "One  gets  a  kaleidoscopic  view  of  life 
in  a  doctor's  office.  What  comes  through  the  ear 
at  home  comes  before  the  eye  here.  The  kaleido- 
scope turned  a  bright-colored  bit  into  the  place 
of  a  dark  one  this  time,  John.  I  am  glad  I 
was  here  to  see." 

As  she  spoke  footsteps  were  heard  on  the 
stairs.  Slow  and  feeble  steps  they  were,  but  at 
last  they  reached  the  landing  and  paused  at  the 
open  door.  Looking  out  Mary  saw  a  poorly  clad 


DOCTOR'S  TELEPHONE  197 

woman  perhaps  forty  years  of  age,  carrying  in 
her  hands  a  speckled  hen.  She  was  pale  and 
trembling  violently,  and  sank  down  exhausted 
into  the  chair  the  doctor  set  for  her.  He  took 
the  hen  from  her  hands  and  set  it  on  the  floor. 
Its  feet  were  securely  tied  and  it  made  no  effort 
to  escape.  The  doctor  had  never  seen  the  woman 
before  but  noting  the  emaciated  form  and  the 
hectic  flush  on  the  cheek  he  saw  that  consumption 
was  fast  doing  its  work.  Mary  took  the  palm 
leaf  fan  lying  on  the  table  and  stood  beside  her, 
fanning  her  gently. 

When  the  woman  could  speak  she  said,  "I 
oughtn't  to  'a'  tried  to  walk,  Doctor,  but  there 
didn't  seem  to  be  anyone  passin'  an'  this  cough 
is  killin'  me.  I  want  something  for  it." 

"How  far  did  you  walk?"  asked  Mary,  kindly. 

"Four  mile." 

"Four  miles!"  she  looked  down  at  the  trem- 
bling form  with  deep  pity  in  her  brown  eyes. 

"I  didn't  have  any  money,  Doctor,  but  will  the 
hen  pay  for  the  medicine?"  her  eyes  were 
raised  anxiously  to  his  face  and  Mary's  eyes  met 
the  look  in  the  eyes  of  her  husband. 

"I  don't  want  the  hen.  We  haven't  any  place 
to  keep  her.  Besides  my  wife,  here,  is  afraid 
of  hens."  rA  little  smile  flitted  across  the  wan 
face. 

He  told  her  how  to  take  the  medicine  and  then 
said,  "Whenever  you  need  any  more  let  me  know 


198  THE  STORY  OF  A 

and  I'll  send  it  to  you.  You  needn't  worry  about 
the  pay." 

"I'm  very  much  obleeged  to  you,  Doctor." 

"Just  take  the  hen  back  home  with  you." 

"I  wonder  if  I  couldn't  sell  her  at  the  store," 
she  said,  looking  at  the  doctor  with  a  bright,  ex- 
pectant face. 

"Wait  here  and  rest  awhile  and  then  we'll  see 
about  it.  I'll  go  down  and  perhaps  I  can  find 
some  one  in  town  from  out  your  way  that  you 
can  ride  home  with.  Where  do  you  live?"  She 
told  him  and  he  went  down  the  stairs.  In  a  little 
while  he  came  back. 

"One  of  your  neighbors  is  down  here  now 
waiting  for  you.  He's  just  starting  home,"  he 
said.  He  took  the  hen  and  as  they  started  down 
the  stairs  Mary  came  out  and  joined  them.  At 
the  foot  of  the  stairway  he  said  to  the  grocer 
standing  in  front  of  his  establishment,  "Here, 
Keller,  I  want  you  to  give  me  a  dollar  for  this 
hen." 

"She  ain't  worth  it." 

"She  is  worth  it,"  said  the  doctor  so  emphatic- 
ally that  Keller  put  his  hand  in  his  pocket  and 
handed  out  the  dollar.  The  poor  woman  did  not 
see  the  half  dollar  that  passed  from  the  doctor's 
hand  to  the  grocer's,  but  Mary  saw  and  was  glad. 

The  doctor  laid  the  dollar  in  the  trembling 
palm,  helped  the  feeble  woman  into  the  wagon 
and  they  drove  off. 

Mary  turned  to  her  husband  and  said  with  a 


DOCTOR'S  TELEPHONE  199 

little  break  in  her  voice,  "I'm  going  home,  John. 
I  want  to  get  away  from  your  kaleidoscope." 

Ting-a-ling-ling-ling.     Ting-a-ling-ling-ling. 

"And  I  must  go  for  another  peep  into  it.  Good- 
bye. Come  again." 


"Is  this  Dr.  Blank?" 

"Yes." 

"This  is  Jim  Sampson,  Doctor,  out  at  Samp- 
son's mill.  My  boy  fell  out  of  a  tree  a  while 
ago  and  broke  his  leg,  and  I'm  sort  o'  worried 
about  it." 

"It  don't  have  to  stay  broke,  you  know." 

"That's  just  the  point.  I'm  afraid  it  will  — 
for  a  while  at  least." 

"What  do  you  mean  ?" 

"Why,  my  wife  says  she  won't  have  it  set 
unless  the  signs  are  right  for  setting  a  broken 
bone.  She's  great  on  the  almanac  signs." 

"The  devil !  You  have  that  bone  set  —  today! 
Do  you  understand?" 

"Yes,  but  Mary's  awful  set  in  her  way." 

"I'm  a  darned  sight  more  set.  That  boy's  not 
going  to  lie  there  and  suffer  because  of  a  fool 
whim  of  his  mother's.  Where  is  she  ?  Send  her 
to  the  'phone  and  I'll  talk  to  her." 

"She  couldn't  find  her  almanac  and  ran  across 
to  the  neighbor's  to  get  one." 

"Call  me  when  she  gets  back." 

Ten  minutes  passed  and  the  call  came. 


200  THE  STORY  OF  A 

"It's  all  right,  Doctor,  the  signs  says  so." 

A  note  of  humor  but  of  unmistakable  relief 
vibrated  in  the  voice. 

"Come  right  out." 

"All  right,  Jim,  I'll  be  out  as  soon  as  I  make 
my  round  here  in  town.  Tell  your  wife  to  have 
that  almanac  handy.  I  may  learn  something 
from  it." 

An  hour  or  two  later  he  was  starting  out  to 
get  into  the  buggy,  with  splints  and  other  needful 
things  when  the  'phone  called  him  back.  Hast- 
ily cramming  them  under  the  seat  he  went. 

"Hello." 

"Is  this  Dr.  Blank?" 

"This  is  Millie  Hastings.  Do  you  remember 
me?" 

"No-o  —  I  don't  believe  I  do." 

"You  doctored  me." 

"Yes,  I've  'doctored'  several  people." 

"I  had  typhoid  fever  two  years  ago  up  in  the 
country  at  my  uncle's." 

"What's  your  uncle's  name?" 

"Henry  Peters." 

"Yes,  I  remember  now." 

"I  wanted  to  find  out  what  my  bill  is." 

"Wait  here  a  moment  till  I  look  at  the  book." 

In  a  minute  he  had  found  it :  Millie  Hastings 
—  so  many  visits  at  such  and  such  a  date, 
amounting  to  thirty-six  dollars.  He  went  back 
to  the  'phone. 

"Do  you  make  your  money  by  working  by  the 
week?" 


DOCTOR'S  TELEPHONE  201 

"Yes,  sir." 

"Have  you  learned  how  to  save  it?" 

"Yes,  sir,  I  had  to.    I  have  to  help  mother." 

"Your  bill  is  eighteen  dollars." 

He  heard  a  little  gasp,  then  a  delighted  voice 
said:  "I  was  afraid  it  would  be  a  good  deal 
more.  And  now  Dr.  Blank,  I  want  to  ask  a 
favor  of  you." 

"Ask  away." 

"I  brought  four  dollars  to  town  with  me  today 
to  pay  on  my  bill,  but  I  want  a  rocking  chair  so 
bad  —  I'm  over  here  at  the  furniture  store  now 
—  and  there's  such  a  nice  one  here  that  just  costs 
four  dollars  and  I  thought  maybe  you'd  wait 
a " 

"Certainly  I  will.  Get  the  rocking  chair  by 
all  means,"  and  he  laughed  heartily  as  he  went 
out  to  the  buggy.  He  climbed  in  and  drove 
away,  the  smile  still  lingering  on  his  face.  At 
the  outskirts  of  the  town  a  tall  girl  hailed  him 
from  the  sidewalk.  He  stopped. 

"I  was  just  going  to  your  office  to  get  my 
medicine,"  she  said. 

"I  left  it  with  the  man  there.  He'll  give  it 
to  you." 

"Must  I  take  it  just  like  the  other?" 

"Yes.  Laugh  some,  though,  just  before  you 
take  it." 

"Why?" 

"Because  you  won't  feel  like  it  afterward." 

The  girl  looked  after  him  as  he  drove  on. 


202  THE  STORY  OF  A 

"He's  laughing,"  she  said  to  herself  and  a  grin 
overspread  her  face  as  she  pursued  her  leisurely 
way. 


Ting-a-ling-ling-ling-ling-ling-lingl ! ! 

"Must  be  something  unusual,"  thought  Mary 
as  the  doctor  went  to  the  'phone. 

"Doctor,  is  this  you?" 

"Yes." 

"Come  out  to  John  Lansing's  quick !" 

"What's  the  matter  ?" 

"My  wife  swallowed  poison.  Hurry,  Doctor, 
for  God's  sake! 

In  a  few  minutes  the  doctor  was  on  his  horse 
(the  roads  being  too  bad  for  a  buggy)  and  was 
off.  We  will  follow  him  as  he  plunges  along 
through  the  darkness. 

Because  of  the  mud  the  horse's  progress  was 
so  slow  that  the  doctor  pulled  him  to  one  side, 
urged  him  on  to  the  board  walk,  much  against  his 
inclination,  and  went  clattering  on  at  such  a  pace 
that  the  doors  began  to  fly  open  on  both  sides  of 
the  street  and  heads,  turned  wonderingly  after 
the  fleeting  horseman,  were  framed  in  rectangles 
of  light. 

"What  is  the  matter  out  there?"  The  angle 
of  the  heads  said  it  so  plainly  that  the  doctor 
laughed  within  himself  as  he  thundered  on.  Now 
it  chanced  that  one  of  the  heads  belonged  to  a 
Meddlesome  Matty  who,  next  day,  stirred  the 


DOCTOR'S  TELEPHONE  203 

matter  up,  and  that  evening  two  officers  of  the 
law  presented  themselves  at  Dr.  Blank's  office 
and  arrested  him. 

"I  don't  care  anything  about  the  fine.  All  I 
wanted  was  to  get  there,"  he  said,  handing  out 
the  three  dollars. 

After  the  horse  left  the  board  walk  the  road 
became  more  solid  and  in  about  ten  minutes  the 
doctor  arrived  at  his  destination.  Before  he 
could  knock  the  door  was  opened.  The  patient 
sat  reclining  in  a  chair,  motionless,  rigid,  her  eyes 
closed. 

"What  has  she  taken?"  asked  the  doctor  of 
the  woman's  husband. 

"Laudanum." 

"How  much?" 

"She  told  me  she  took  this  bottle  full,"  and 
he  held  up  a  two  ounce  bottle. 

"I  think  she's  lying,"  thought  the  doctor  as  he 
laid  his  fingers  upon  her  pulse.  Then  he  raised 
the  lids  and  looked  carefully  at  the  pupils  of  the 
eyes.  "Not  much  contraction  here,"  he  thought. 
Turning  to  the  husband  who  stood  pale  and 
trembling  beside  him,  he  said, 

"Don't  be  alarmed  —  she's  in  no  more  danger 
than  you  are."  He  watched  the  patient's  face 
as  he  spoke  and  saw  what  he  expected — a 
faint  facial  movement. 

"To  be  on  the  safe  side  we'll  treat  the  case 
as  if  she  had  taken  two  ounces."  He  gave  her 
a  hypodermic  emetic  then  called  for  warm  water. 

"How  much?"  asked  the  husband. 


204  THE  STORY  OF  A 

"O,  a  half  gallon  will  do." 

A  big  fat  woman  came  panting  through  the 
doorway.  "I  got  here  as  quick  as  I  could,"  she 
gasped. 

"We  don't  need  you  at  all,"  said  the  doctor 
quietly.  "Better  go  back  home  to  your  children, 
Mrs.  Johnson." 

Mrs.  Johnson,  not  liking  to  be  cheated  out  of 
a  sensation  which  she  dearly  loved,  stood  still. 
Mr.  Lansing  came  back  with  the  warm  water.  A 
faint  slit  appeared  under  the  eyelids  of  the  pa- 
tient. The  doctor  took  the  big  cup  and  said  ab- 
ruptly, "Here !  drink  this !" 

No  response.  "Mrs.  Lansing!"  he  said  so 
sharply  that  her  eyes  opened.  "Drink  this 
water." 

"I  ca-an't,"  she  murmured  feebly. 

"Yes,  you  can." 

"I  won't,"  the  voice  was  getting  stronger. 

"You  will." 

"You'll  see." 

"Yes,  I'll  see." 

He  held  the  big  vessel  to  her  mouth.  When 
the  water  began  to  pour  down  her  neck  she 
sprang  to  her  feet  fighting  it  off.  He  held  the 
cup  in  his  left  hand  while  with  his  right  he 
reached  around  her  neck  and  took  her  firmly  by 
the  nose.  Then  he  held  the  cup  against  her 
mouth  and  when  it  opened  for  breath  he  poured 
the  life-saving  fluid  forcefully  down.  Great 
gulps  of  it  were  swallowed  while  a  wide  sheet  of 


DOCTOR'S  TELEPHONE  205 

* 

water  poured  down  her  neck  and  over  her  night- 
dress to  the  floor. 

"That  was  very  well  done.  Better  sit  down 
now." 

The  husband  stood  in  awed  silence.  The  fat 
woman  shook  her  fist  at  the  doctor's  back  which 
he  beheld,  nothing  daunted,  in  the  looking-glass 
on  the  wall.  The  patient  herself  sat  down  in 
absolute  quiet.  In  a  minute  she  began  retching 
and  vomited  some  of  the  water.  The  doctor  in- 
spected it  carefully.  Then  he  went  to  his  over- 
coat on  a  chair,  felt  in  the  pocket  and  drew  out 
a  coil  of  something.  It  looked  like  red  rubber 
and  was  about  half  an  inch  in  diameter.  He 
slowly  unwound  it.  It  was  five  or  six  feet  in 
length.  A  subdued  voice  asked, 

"What  are  you  going  to  do  now,  Doctor?" 

"I  am  going  to  turn  on  the  hose." 

"Wha-a-t?" 

"I  am  going  to  put  this  tube  down  into  your 
stomach.  You  haven't  thrown  up  much  of  that 
laudanum  yet." 

She  opened  her  mouth  to  speak  and  the  doc- 
tor inserted  one  end  of  the  tube  and  began  ram- 
ming it  down.  "Unfasten  a  button  or  two  here," 
he  said  to  her  husband  and  rammed  some  more. 
She  gagged  and  gurgled  and  tried  to  push  his 
hands  away. 

"Hold  on,  we're  not  down  yet  — we're  only 
about  to  the  third  button."  He  began  ramming 
the  tube  again  when  she  looked  up  at  her  hus- 


206  THE  STORY  OF  A 

band  so  imploringly  that  he  said,  "Hold  on  a 
minute,  Doctor,  she  wants  to  say   something." 
The  doctor  withdrew  the  tube  and  waited. 
"I'm  sure  I  threw  it  all  up." 
"Oh  no,"  he  said  beginning  to  lift  it  again. 
"I — only — took — two  — or  three  drops." 
"Why  the  devil  didn't  you  say  so  at  the  start  ?" 
"I  wish  I  had.    I  just  told  Jim  that." 
"To  get  even  with  him  for  something,"  an- 
nounced the  doctor  quietly. 

"How  can  he  know  so  much,"  mused  Jim's 
wife. 

"Now  I  advise  you  not  to  try  this  game  again," 
said  the  doctor  as  he  wound  up  the  stomach  tube 
and  put  it  into  his  pocket.  "You  can't  fool  Jim 
all  the  time,  and  you  can't  fool  me  any  of  the 
time.  Good  night."  And  he  rode  home  and 
found  Mary  asleep  in  her  chair. 


Ting-a-ling-ling-ling.     Ting-a-ling-ling-ling. 

"Is  this  you,  Dr.  Blank?" 

"Yes." 

"I  wanted  to  ask  you  about  an  electric  vi- 
brator." 

"About  what?" 

"An  electric  vibrator." 

"An  electric  something — I  didn't  get  the  last 
word." 

A  little  laugh,  then  "v-i-b-r-a-t-o-r." 

"Oh !  vibrator." 


DOCTOR'S  TELEPHONE  207 

"Yes.    Do  you  think  it  would  help  my  aunt?" 

"Not  a  durned  bit." 

Another  little  laugh,  "You  don't  think  it 
would?" 

"No!" 

"I  had  a  letter  today  from  my  cousin  and  she 
said  she  knew  a  lady  who  had  had  a  stroke  and 
this  vibrator  helped  her  more  than  anything." 

"It  didn't.    She  imagined  it." 

"Well,  I  didn't  know  anything  about  it  and  I 
knew  you  would,  so  I  thought  I'd  'phone  you  be- 
fore going  any  further.  Much  obliged,  Doctor." 

It  would  save  much  time  and  money  and  dis- 
appointment if  all  those  who  don't  know  would 
pause  to  put  a  question  or  two  to  those  who  do. 
But  so  it  is  not,  and  the  maker  of  worthless  de- 
vices and  the  concocter  of  nostrums  galore 
cometh  oft  to  fortune  by  leaps  and  bounds,  while 
the  poor,  conscientious  physician  who  sticks  to 
the  truth  of  things,  arriveth  betimes  at  starva- 
tion's gate. 

(I  was  startled  a  few  days  ago  to  learn  that 
the  average  income  of  physicians  in  the  United 
States  does  not  exceed  six  hundred  dollars.) 


Ting-a-ling-ling-ling.     Ting-a-ling-ling-ling. 
"Tell  papa  he's  wanted  at  the  'phone,"  said 
Mary. 

"Where  is  he?" 
"Isn't  he  there  in  the  dining  room?" 


208  THE  STORY  OF  A 

"No,  he  isn't  here." 

"He  must  be  in  the  kitchen  then ;  go  to  the 
door  and  call  him." 

The  small  boy  obeyed.  "He's  not  out  here 
either,"  he  announced  from  the  door-way. 

"Why,  where  can  he  be !"  cried  Mary,  spring- 
ing up  and  going  swiftly  to  the  'phone.  "Hello." 

"Is  the  doctor  there  ?" 

"Yes.    Wait  just  a  minute  and  I  will  call  him." 

She  hurried  through  the  dining  room,  then 
through  the  kitchen  and  out  into  the  yard.  No 
doctor  to  be  seen.  "He  passed  through  the  house 
not  three  minutes  ago,"  she  said  to  herself. 

"John!" 

"Doctor!" 

"Doc-tor!" 

"O,  dear !  I  don't  see  how  he  could  disappear 
from  the  face  of  the  earth  in  three  minutes' 
time !" 

She  hurried  around  a  projecting  corner 
through  a  little  gate  and  called  again. 

"What  is  it  ?"  asked  a  placid  voice  as  its  owner 
emerged  from  his  new  auto  garage. 

"Hurry  to  the  'phone  for  pity's  sake !"  and  he 
hurried.  Mary,  following,  all  out  of  breath, 
heard  this: 

"Two  teaspoonfuls."  Then  the  doctor  hung 
up  the  receiver.  He  turned  to  Mary  and  laughed 
as  he  quoted  Emerson  on  the  mountain  and  the 
mouse. 

"I  chased  you  all  over  the  place  this  afternoon, 


DOCTOR'S  TELEPHONE  209 

John,  when  the  'phone  was  calling  you,  and 
couldn't  find  you  at  all.  Some  people  have  days 
to  'appear'  but  this  seems  to  be  your  day  to  dis- 
appear. Where  were  you  then  ?" 

"Out  in  the  garage." 

"Fascinating  spot!  I'll  know  where  to  look 
next  time.  Now  come  to  supper." 


210  THE  STORY  OF  A 

CHAPTER  XV. 
It  was  October  —  the  carnival  time  of  the  year, 

When  on  the  ground  red  apples  lie 

In  piles   like  jewels    shining, 
And  redder  still  on  old  stone  walls 

Are  leaves  of  woodbine  twining. 

When   comrades   seek  sweet  country  haunts, 

By  twos  and  twos  together, 
And  count  like  misers,  hour  by  hour, 

October's  bright  blue  weather. 

On  a  lovely  afternoon  our  travelers  were  driv- 
ing leisurely  along  through  partially  cleared 
woodland.  The  doctor  had  proposed  that  they 
take  this  trip  in  the  new  automobile.  But  Mary 
had  declined  with  great  firmness. 

"I  will  not  be  hurled  along  the  road  in  October 
of  all  months.  What  fools  these  mortals  be," 
she  went  on.  "Last  year  while  driving  slowly 
through  the  glorious  Austrian  Tyrol  fairly  hold- 
ing my  breath  with  delight,  one  machine  after 
another  whizzed  by,  the  occupants  fancying  they 
were  'doing'  the  Tyrol,  I  dare  say." 

Mary  looked  about  her,  drinking  in  deep 
draughts  of  the  delicious  air.  The  beautifully- 
tinted  leaves  upon  every  tree  and  bush,  the  blue 


DOCTOR'S  TELEPHONE  211 

haze  in  the  distance  and  the  dreamful  melan- 
choly over  all,  were  delightful  to  her.  The  frag- 
rance of  wild  grapes  came  to  them  as  they 
emerged  from  the  woods  and  Mary  said, 
"Couldn't  you  wait  a  minute,  John,  until  I  go 
back  and  find  them?  I'll  bring  you  some." 

"If  you  were  sick  and  had  sent  for  a  doctor 
would  you  like  to  have  him  fool  around  gather- 
ing grapes  and  everything  else  on  his  way?" 
"No,  I  wouldn't.     I  really  wouldn't." 
They  laughed   as  they  sped  along  the  open 
country  road,  skirted  on  either  side  by  a  rail 
fence.      From   a   fence   corner   here   and   there 
arose  tall  sumac,  like  candelabra  bearing  aloft 
their  burning  tapers.     The  poke-weed  flung  out 
its  royal  purple  banners  while  golden-rod  and 
asters    were  blooming    everywhere.      Suddenly 
Mary  exclaimed,  "I'm  going  to  get  out  of  the 
buggy  this  minute." 
"What  for?" 

"To  gather  those  brown  bunches  of  hazelnuts." 
"Mary,  I  positively  will  not  wait  for  you." 
"John,  I  positively  don't  want  you  to  wait  for 
me,"  said  Mary,  putting  her  foot  on  the  step, 
"I'm  going  to  stay  here  and  gather  nuts  till  you 
come  back.    See  how  many  there  are  ?"  and  she 
sprang  lightly  to  the  ground. 

"It  will  be  an  hour  or  more  before  I  can  get 
back.     I've  got  to  take  up  that  pesky  artery." 

"It  won't  seem  long.    You  know  I  like  to  be 
alone." 


212  THE  STORY  OF  A 

"Good-bye,  then,"  and  the  doctor  started  off. 

"Wait!  John,"  his  wife  called  after  him.  "I 
haven't  a  thing  to  put  the  nuts  in,  please  throw 
me  the  laprobe."  The  doctor  crushed  the  robe 
into  a  sort  of  bundle  and  threw  it  to  her. 

She  spread  the  robe  upon  the  ground  and  be- 
gan plucking  the  bunches.  Her  fingers  flew 
nimbly  over  the  bushes  and  soon  she  had  a  pile 
of  the  brown  treasures.  Dear  old  times  came 
trooping  back.  She  thought  of  far-off  autumn 
days  when  she  had  taken  her  little  wagon  and 
gone  out  to  the  hazel  bushes  growing  near  her 
father's  house,  and  filled  it  to  the  top  and 
tramped  it  down  and  filled  it  yet  again.  Then 
a  gray  October  day  came  back  when  three  or 
four  girls  and  boys,  all  busy  in  the  bushes,  talked 
in  awed  tones  of  the  great  fire — Chicago  was 
burning  up !  Big,  big  Chicago,  which  they  had 
never  seen  or  dreamed  of  seeing  —  all  because 
a  cow  kicked  over  a  lamp. 

Mary  moved  to  another  clump  of  bushes.  As 
she  worked  she  thought  if  she  had  never  known 
the  joy  of  gathering  nuts  and  wild  grapes  and 
persimmons,  of  wandering  through  woods  and 
meadows,  her  childhood  would  have  lost  much 
that  is  beautiful  and  best,  and  her  womanhood 
many  of  its  dearest  recollections. 

"You're  the  doctor's  wife,  ain't  ye?" 

Mary  looked  around  quite  startled.  A  tall  wo- 
man in  a  blue  calico  dress  and  a  brown  gingham 


DOCTOR'S  TELEPHONE  213 

sunbonnet  was  standing  there.  "I  didn't  want 
tp  scare  ye,  I  guess  you  didn't  see  me  comin'." 

"I  didn't  know  you  were  coming  —  yes,  I  am 
the  doctor's  wife." 

"We  saw  ye  from  the  house  and  supposed  he'd 
gone  on  to  see  old  man  Benning  and  that  you 
had  stopped  to  pick  nuts." 

"You  guessed  it  exactly,"  said  Mary  with  a 
smile. 

"We  live  about  a  quarter  mile  back  from  the 
road  so  I  didn't  see  the  doctor  in  time  to  stop 
him." 

"Is  some  one  sick  at  your  house,  then?" 

"Well,  my  man  ain't  a  doin'  right,  somehow. 
He's  been  ailin'  for  some  time  and  his  left  foot 
and  leg  is  a  turnin'  blue.  I  come  to  see  if  you 
could  tell  me  somethin'  I  could  do  for  it.  I'm 
afraid  it's  mortifyin'." 

Mary's  brown  eyes  opened  wide.  "Why,  my 
dear  woman,  I  couldn't  tell  you  anything  to  do. 
I  don't  know  anything  at  all  about  such  things." 

"I  supposed  bein'  a  doctor's  wife  you'd  learnt 
everything  like  that." 

"I  have  learned  many  things  by  being  a  doctor's 
wife,  very  many  things,  but  what  to  do  with  a 
leg  and  foot  that  are  mortifying  I  really  could 
not  tell  you."  Mary  turned  her  face  away  to 
hide  a  laugh  that  was  getting  near  the  surface. 
"I  will  have  the  doctor  drive  up  to  the  house 
when  he  gets  back  if  you  wish,"  she  said,  turning 
to  her  companion. 


214  THE  STORY  OF  A 

"Maybe  that  would  be  best.  Your  husband 
cured  me  once  when  I  thought  nothing  would 
ever  get  me  well  again.  I  think  more  of  him 
than  any  other  man  in  the  world." 

"Thank  you.    So  do  I." 

She  started  off  and  Mary  went  on  gathering 
nuts,  her  face  breaking  into  smiles  at  the  queer 
errand  and  the  restorative  power  imputed  to 
herself.  "If  it  is  as  serious  as  she  thinks,  all 
the  doctors  in  the  world  can't  do  much  for  it, 
much  less  one  meek  and  humble  doctor's  wife. 
But  they  could  amputate,  I  suppose,  and  I'm  sure 
I  couldn't,  not  in  a  scientific  way." 

Thus  soliloquizing,  she  went  from  clump  to 
clump  of  the  low  bushes  till  they  were  bereft  of 
their  fruitage.  She  looked  down  well-pleased  at 
the  robe  with  the  nuts  piled  upon  it.  She  drew 
the  corners  up  and  tied  her  bundle  securely.  This 
done  she  looked  down  the  road  where  the  doctor 
had  disappeared.  "I'll  just  walk  on  and  meet 
him,"  she  thought.  She  went  leisurely  along, 
stopping  now  and  then  to  pluck  a  spray  of  gol- 
denrod.  When  she  had  gathered  quite  a  bunch 
she  looked  at  it  closely.  "You  are  like  some  peo- 
ple in  this  world  —  you  have  a  pretty  name  and 
at  a  little  distance  you  are  pretty:  but  seen  too 
close  you  are  a  disappointment,  and  more  than 
that  you  are  coarse.  I  don't  want  you,"  and  she 
flung  them  away.  She  saw  dust  rising  far  down 
the  road  and  hoped  it  might  be  the  doctor.  Yes, 
it  was  he,  and  Bucephalus  seemed  to  know  that 


DOCTOR'S  TELEPHONE  215 

he  was  traveling  toward  home.  When  her  hus- 
band came  up  and  she  was  seated  beside  him, 
she  said,  "You  are  wanted  at  that  little  house 
over  yonder,"  and  she  told  him  what  had  taken 
place  in  the  hazel  bushes.  "You're  second  choice 
though,  they  came  for  me  first,"  she  said  laugh- 
ing. 

"I  wish  to  thunder  you'd  gone.  They  owe  me 
a  lot  now  they'll  never  pay." 

"At  any  rate,  they  hold  you  in  very  high  es- 
teem, John." 

"Oh,  yes,  but  esteem  butters  no  bread." 

"Well,  you'll  go,  won't  you?  I  told  the  wo- 
man you  would." 

"Yes,  I'll  go." 

He  turned  into  a  narrow  lane  and  in  a  few 
minutes  they  were  at  the  gate.  The  doctor 
handed  the  reins  to  Mary  and  went  inside.  A 
girl  fourteen  or  fifteen  years  old  with  a  bald- 
headed  baby  on  her  arm  came  out  of  the  house 
and  down  the  path. 

"Won't  you  come  in  ?" 

"No,  thank  you.  We  will  be  going  home  in 
a  minute." 

The  girl  set  the  baby  on  the  gate-post.  "She's 
the  smartest  baby  I  ever  saw,"  she  said.  "She's 
got  a  whole  mouthful  of  teeth  already." 

"And  how  old  is  she?" 

"She  was  ten  months  old  three  weeks  ago  last 
Saturday." 

As  today  was  Thursday,  Mary  was  on  the  point 


216  THE  STORY  OF  A3 

of  saying,  "She  will  be  eleven  months  old  in  a 
few  days  then,"  but  checked  herself  —  she  un- 
derstood. It  would  detract  from  the  baby's 
smartness  to  give  her  eleven  months  instead  of 
only  ten  in  which  to  accomplish  such  wonders 
in  the  way  of  teeth.  The  doctor  came  out  and 
they  started.  Just  before  they  came  out  to  the 
main  road  they  passed  an  old  deserted  house.  No 
signs  of  life  were  about  it  except  the  very  lux- 
uriant life  in  the  tall  jimsons  and  ragweeds 
growing  about  it  and  reaching  almost  to  the  top 
of  the  low  doorway,  yawning  blackly  behind 
them. 

"I  think  the  longest  night  of  my  life  was  spent 
in  that  house  about  sixteen  years  ago.  It's  the 
only  house  I  was  ever  in  where  there  was  nothing 
at  all  to  read.  There  wasn't  even  an  almanac." 

Mary  laughed.  "An  almanac  is  a  great  deal 
better  than  nothing,  my  dear.  I  found  that  out 
once  upon  a  time  when  I  had  to  stay  in  a  house 
for  several  hours  where  there  was  just  one  al- 
manac and  not  another  printed  page.  I  read  the 
jokes  two  or  three  times  till  they  began  to  pall 
and  then  set  to  work  on  the  signs.  I'll  always 
have  a  regard  for  them  because  they  gave  me  a 
lift  through  those  tedious  hours." 

They  were  not  far  from  the  western  edge  of 
the  piece  of  woodland  they  were  traversing  and 
all  about  them  was  the  soft  red  light  of  the  set- 
ting sun.  They  could  see  the  sun  himself  away 
off  through  the  straight  and  solemn  trunks  of 


DOCTOR'S  TELEPHONE  217 

the  trees.  A  mile  farther  on  Mary  uttered  a 
sudden  exclamation  of  delight. 

"See  that  lovely  bittersweet!" 

"I  see,  but  don't  ask  me  to  stop  and  get  you 
some." 

"I  won't,  but  I'll  ask  you  to  stop  and  let  me 
get  some." 

"I  wouldn't  bother  about  it.  You'll  have  to 
scramble  over  that  ditch  and  up  the  bank — " 

"I've  scrambled  over  worse  things  in  my  life," 
she  said,  springing  from  the  buggy  and  picking 
her  way  down  the  intervening  ditch.  The  bright 
red  berries  in  their  flaring  yellow  hoods  were 
beautiful.  She  began  breaking  off  the  branches. 
When  she  had  gathered  a  large  bunch  and  was 
turning  toward  the  buggy  she  saw  a  vehicle  con- 
taining two  women  approaching  from  the  oppo- 
site direction.  There  was  a  ditch  on  either  side 
of  the  road  which,  being  narrow  at  this  point, 
made  passing  a  delicate  piece  of  work.  The  doc- 
tor drew  his  horse  to  one  side  so  that  the  wheels 
of  the  buggy  rested  on  the  very  brink  and  waited 
for  them  to  pass;  he  saw  that  there  was  room 
with  perhaps  a  foot  or  two  to  spare. 

On  came  the  travelers  and  -  -  the  front 
wheels  of  the  two  vehicles  were  locked 
in  a  close  embrace.  <For  a  minute  the 
doctor  did  some  vigorous  thinking  and 
then  he  climbed  out  of  the  buggy.  It  was  a 
trying  position.  He  could  not  say  all  of  the 
things  he  wanted  to  —  it  would  not  be  polite; 


218  THE  STORY  OF  A 

neither  did  he  want  to  act  as  if  it  were  nothing 
because  Mary  might  not  understand  the  extent 
of  the  mischief  she  had  caused  and  how  much 
out  of  humor  he  was  with  her.  It  would  be 
easier  if  she  were  only  out  of  hearing  instead  of 
looking  at  him  across  the  ditch  with  apologetic 
eyes. 

The  doctor's  horse  began  to  move  uneasily  but 
the  other  stood  perfectly  still. 

"He's  used  to  this  sort  of  thing,  perhaps,"  said 
the  doctor  with  as  little  sarcasm  as  possible. 

"Yes,  we  have  run  into  a  good  many  buggies 
and  things,"  said  one  of  the  women,  cheerfully. 

"Women  beat  the  devil  when  it  comes  to  driv- 
ing," thought  the  doctor  within  himself.  "They'll 
drive  right  over  you  and  never  seem  to  think 
they  ought  to  give  part  of  the  road.  And  they 
do  it  everywhere,  not  only  where  there  are 
ditches."  He  restrained  his  speech,  backed  the 
offending  vehicle  and  started  the  travelers  on. 
While  he  was  doing  so  his  own  steed  started 
on  and  he  had  a  lively  run  to  catch  him. 

Mary  had  thought  of  turning  back  to  break 
off  another  spray  of  the  bittersweet  but  John's 
profanity  was  rising  to  heaven.  Diplomacy  re- 
quired her  to  get  to  the  buggy  and  into  it  at  once. 
This  she  did  and  the  doctor  plunged  in  after 
her. 

"Forgive  me  for  keeping  you  waiting,"  she 
said  gently.  She  held  the  bittersweet  out  before 
her.  "Isn't  it  lovely,  John?" 


DOCTOR'S  TELEPHONE  219 

A  soft  observation  turneth  away  wrath.  The 
doctor's  was  oozing  away  sooner  than  he  wished. 

They  drove  on  for  a  while  in  silence.  The  soft, 
still  landscape  dotted  here  and  there  with  farm 
houses  and  with  graceful  elm  and  willow  trees, 
was  lit  up  and  glorified  by  the  after-glow.  The 
evening  sky  arching  serenely  over  a  quiet  world, 
how  beautiful  it  was!  And  as  Mary's  eyes 
caught  a  glittering  point  of  light  in  the  blue  vault 
above  them,  she  sang  softly  to  herself : 

"O,  thou   sublime,  sweet  evening  star, 
Joyful    I    greet   thee    from   afar." 

For  a  while  she  watched  the  stars  as  one  by 
one  they  twinkled  into  view,  then  drawing  her 
wraps  more  closely  about  her,  she  leaned  back  in 
the  carriage  and  gave  herself  up  to  pleasant  re- 
flection, and  before  she  realized  it  the  lights  of 
home  were  twinkling  cheerily  ahead. 


220  THE  STORY  OF  A 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

"You  are  not  going  out  tonight,  John,  no  mat- 
ter how  often  the  'phone  rings.  I  positively  will 
not  let  you."  Mary  spoke  with  strong  emphasis. 
All  the  night  before  he  had  been  up  and  today 
had  been  a  hard  day  for  him.  She  had  seldom 
seen  him  so  utterly  weary  as  he  was  tonight.  He 
had  come  home  earlier  than  usual  and  now  sat 
before  the  fire,  his  head  sunk  on  his  breast,  half 
asleep. 

"Go  right  to  bed,  dear,  then  you  can  really 
rest." 

The  doctor,  too  tired  to  offer  any  resistance, 
rose  and  went  to  the  bedroom.  In  a  few  minutes 
his  wife  heard  regular  sonorous  sounds  from  the 
bed.  (When  she  spoke  of  these  sounds  to  John, 
Mary  pronounced  it  without  the  first  o.) 

Glad  that  he  had  so  soon  fallen  into  deep 
sleep  she  settled  back  in  her  chair.  "I'll  protect 
him  tonight,"  she  thought,  "though  fiery  darts 
be  hurled." 

She  thought  of  many  things.  The  fire-light 
gleamed  red  upon  the  hearth.  All  was  still.  The 
sounds  from  the  adjoining  room  had  ceased. 
Something  stirred  within  her  and  she  rose  and 
went  softly  to  the  bedside  of  her  sleeping  hus- 
band. In  the  half-light  she  could  see  the  strong, 


DOCTOR'S  TELEPHONE  221 

good  face.  Dear  John  so  profane  yet  so  patient, 
so  severe  yet  so  tender,  what  would  it  be  to  face 
life  without  him.  She  laid  her  hand  very  lightly 
on  the  hand  which  lay  on  the  counterpane,  then 
took  it  away  lest  it  disturb  the  sleeper.  She  went 
back  to  her  chair  and  opening  a  little  volume  took 
from  it  a  folded  sheet.  Twice  before  today 
had  she  read  the  words  written  within  it.  A 
dear  friend  whose  husband  had  recently  died  had 
written  her,  inclosing  them.  She  read  them  again 


IN    MEMORIAM, A    PRAYER. 

"O  God !  The  Father  of  the  spirits  of  all 
flesh,  in  whatsoever  world  or  condition  they  be, 
—  I  beseech  Thee  for  him  whose  name,  and 
dwelling  place,  and  every  need  Thou  knowest. 
Lord,  vouchsafe  him  peace  and  light,  rest  and  re- 
freshment, joy  and  consolation  in  Paradise,  in 
the  ample  folds  of  Thy  great  love.  Grant  that 
his  life,  so  troubled  here,  may  unfold  itself  in 
Thy  sight,  and  find  employment  in  the  spacious 
fields  of  Eternity.  —  If  he  hath  ever  been  hurt 
or  maimed  by  any  unhappy  word  or  deed  of 
mine,  I  pray  Thee,  of  Thy  great  pity,  to  heal  and 
restore  him,  that  he  may  serve  Thee  without 
hindrance. 

"Tell  him,  O  gracious  Father,  it  ft  may  be, — 
how  much  I  love  him  and  miss  him,  and  long  to 
see  him  again ;  and  if  there  may  be  ways  in  which 
he  may  come,  vouchsafe  him  to  me  as  guide  and 
guard,  and  grant  me  such  sense  of  his  nearness 
as  Thy  laws  permit.  If  in  aught  I  can  minister 
to  his  peace,  be  pleased  of  Thy  love  to  let  this 


222  THE  STORY  OF  A 

be ;  and  mercifully  keep  me  from  every  act  which 
may  deprive  me  of  the  sight  of  him,  as  soon  as 
our  trial  time  is  over,  or  mar  the  fullness  of  our 
joy  when  the  end  of  the  days  hath  come." 


Mary  brushed  away  a  tear  from  her  cheek. 
"This  letter  has  awakened  unusual  thoughts.  I 
will  — " 

A   sharp   peal   from   the   telephone. 

"What  is  it?" 

"Is  the  doctor  at  home?" 

"Yes.    He  has  gone  to  bed  and  is  fast  asleep." 

"Oh !  We  wanted  him  to  come  down  to  see 
my  sister." 

"He  was  up  all  last  night  and  is  not  able  to 
come- — " 

"Can  I  just  talk  to  him  about  her?" 

Mary  sighed.  To  rouse  him  from  his  sorely 
needed  sleep  was  too  cruel.  Then  she  spoke.  "I 
must  not  disturb  him  unless  it  is  absolutely 
necessary.  I  shall  be  sitting  here  awake  —  call 
me  again  in  a  little  while  if  you  think  it  neces- 
sary." 

"A — 1 — 1  r — i — g — h — t — "  and  a  sob  came 
distinctly  to  the  listener's  ear. 

This  was  too  much  for  Mary.  "I'll  call  him," 
she  said  hurriedly  and  went  to  the  bedroom. 

With  much  difficulty  she  roused  him.  He  threw 
back  the  covers,  got  up  and  stumbled  to  the 
'phone. 

"Hello Yes They  didn't?  Is  she  suf- 


DOCTOR'S  TELEPHONE  223 

faring  much? All  right,  I'll  be  down  in  a 

little  bit." 

Mary  groaned  aloud.  She  had  vowed  to  pro- 
tect him  though  fiery  darts  be  hurled.  But  the 
sob  in  the  voice  of  a  frightened  young  girl  was 
more  potent  than  any  fiery  dart  could  have  been 
and  had  melted  her  at  once.  Slowly  but  surely 
the  doctor  got  himself  into  his  clothes. 

"I  don't  think  there's  any  use  of  my  going 
down  there  again,  but  I  suppose  I'll  have  it  to 
do."  When  he  returned  an  hour  later,  he  said, 
"Just  as  I  thought  —  they  were  badly  scared 
over  nothing.  I  shouldn't  wonder  if  they'd  rout 
me  out  again  before  morning." 

"No,  they  won't,"  said  Mary  to  herself,  and 
when  her  husband  was  safe  in  bed  again,  she 
walked  quietly  to  the  telephone,  took  down  the 
receiver  and  left  it  down.  "Extreme  cases  re- 
quire extreme  measures,"  she  thought  as  she, 
too,  prepared  for  her  night's  rest.  But  there 
was  a  haunting  feeling  in  her  mind  about  the 
receiver  hanging  there.  Suppose  some  one  who 
really  did  need  the  doctor  should  call  and  call 
in  vain.  She  would  not  think  of  it.  She  turned 
over  and  fell  asleep  and  they  both  slept  till  morn- 
ing and  rose  refreshed  for  another  day. 

A  few  weeks  later  circumstances  much  like 
those  narrated  above  arose,  and  the  doctor's  wife 
for  the  second  and  last  time  left  the  receiver 
down.  About  two  o'clock  there  came  a  tragic 


224  THE  STORY  OF  A 

pounding  at  the  door  and  when  the  doctor  went 
to  open  it  a  voice  asked,  "What's  the  matter 
down  here?" 

"Why?" 

"Central's  been  ringing  you  to  beat  the  band 
and  couldn't  get  you  awake." 

"Strange  we  didn't  hear.  What's  wanted?" 
He  had  recognized  the  messenger  as  the  night 
clerk  at  the  hotel  not  far  from  his  home. 

"A  man  hurt  at  the  railroad  —  they're  afraid 
he'll  bleed  to  death.  Central  called  me  and  asked 
me  to  run  over  here  and  rouse  you." 

When  the  doctor  was  gone  Mary  rose  trem- 
blingly and  hung-up  the  receiver.  She  would  not 
tell  John  what  she  had  done.  He  would  be  an- 
gry. She  had  felt  that  the  end  justified  the 
means — that  he  was  tired  out  and  half  sick  and 
sorely  needed  a  night's  unbroken  rest  —  but  if 
the  end  should  be  the  bleeding  to  death  of  this 
poor  man  — 

She  dared  not  think  of  it.  She  went  back  to 
bed  but  not  to  sleep.  She  lay  wide  awake  keenly 
anxious  for  her  husband's  return.  And  when  at 
last  he  came  her  lips  could  hardly  frame  the 
question,  "How  is  he,  John  ?" 

"Pretty  badly  hurt,  but  not  fatally." 

"Thank  heaven !"  Mary  whispered,  and  formed 
a  quick  resolve  which  she  never  broke.  This  be- 
longed to  her  husband's  life — it  must  remain  a 
part  of  it  to  the  end. 


DOCTOR'S  TELEPHONE  225 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

One  lovely  morning  in  April,  Mary  was  called 
to  the  telephone. 

"I  want  you  to  drive  to  the  country  with  me 
this  morning,"  said  her  husband. 

"I'll  be  delighted.  I  have  a  little  errand  down 
town  and  I'll  come  to  the  office  —  we  can  start 
from  there."  Accordingly  half  an  hour  later  she 
walked  into  the  office  and  seated  herself  in  a 
big  chair  to  wait  till  John  was  ready.  The  door 
opened  and  a  small  freckle-faced  boy  entered. 

"Good  morning,  Governor,"  said  the  doctor. 
The  governor  grinned. 

"What  can  I  do  for  you  today  ?" 

"How  much  will  ye  charge  to  pull  a  tooth  ?" 

"Well,  I'll  pull  the  tooth  and  if  it  don't  hurt 
I  won't  charge  anything.  Sit  down." 

The  boy  sat  down  and  the  doctor  got  out  his 
forceps.  The  tooth  came  hard  but  he  got  it.  The 
boy  clapped  his  hand  over  his  mouth  but  not  a 
sound  escaped  him. 

"There  it  is,"  said  the  doctor,  holding  out  the 
offending  member.  "Do  you  want  it  ?"  A  boy's 
tooth  is  a  treasure  to  be  exhibited  to  all  one's 
friends.  He  took  it  and  put  it  securely  in  his 
pocket. 

"How  much  do  I  have  to  pay?" 


226  THE  STORY  OF  A 

"Did  it  hurt?" 

"Nope." 

"Nothing  at  all." 

The  boy  slid  from  the  chair  and  out  of  the 
door,  ecstasy  overspreading  all  the  freckles. 

"That  boy  has  a  future,"  said  Mary  looking 
after  him  with  a  smile. 

"I  see  they  have  brought  the  horse.  We  must 
be  starting." 

Ting-a-ling-ling-ling.     Ting-a-ling-ling-ling. 

"They  want  ye  down  at  Pete  Jansen's  agin." 

"What's  the  matter  there  now  ?" 

"O,  that  youngun's  been  drinkin'  somethin' 
agin." 

"Into  the  lye  this  time,  too?" 

"No,  it's  coal  oil  and  bluin'  this  time  and  I 
don't  know  what  else." 

"I'll  be  down  right  away,"  said  the  doctor, 
taking  up  his  hat." 

"Get  into  the  buggy  and  drive  down  with  me, 
Mary,  it's  just  at  the  edge  of  town  and  then  we 
can  drive  on  into  the  country." 

When  they  stopped  at  the  house,  an  unpainted 
little  frame  structure,  Mary  held  the  horse  while 
her  husband  went  in. 

"Where's  the  boy?"  he  asked,  looking  around. 

"He's  out  in  the  back  yard  a-playin'  now,  I 
guess,"  his  mother  replied  from  the  bed. 

"Then  what  in  thunder  did  you  send  for  me 
for?" 

"Why,  I  was  scared  for  fear  it  would  kill  him." 


DOCTOR'S  TELEPHONE  227 

The  doctor  turned  to  go  then  paused  to  ask, 
"How's  the  baby?" 

"She's  doin'  fine." 

"She's  just  about  a  week  old  now,  isn't  she?" 

"A  week  yesterday.  Don't  you  want  to  see 
how  much  she's  growed  ?" 

The  doctor  went  to  the  bed  and  looked  down 
at  the  wee  little  maiden. 

"Great  God !"  he  exclaimed,  so  fiercely  that  the 
woman  was  frightened.  "Why  haven't  you  let 
me  know  about  this  baby's  eyes." 

"W'y,  we  didn't  think  it  'd  'mount  to  anything. 
We  thought  they  'd  git  well  in  a  day  or  two." 

"She'll  be  blind  in  less  than  a  week  if  some- 
thing isn't  done  for  them." 

"Grandmother's  been  a  doctorin'  'em  some." 

"Well,  there's  going  to  be  a  change  of  doctors 
right  straight.  I'm  going  to  treat  this  baby's 
eyes  myself." 

"We  don't  want  any  strong  medicine  put  in 
a  baby's  eyes." 

"It  don't  make  a  bit  of  difference  what  you 
want.  I'm  going  to  the  drug  store  now  to  get 
what  I  need  and  I  want  you  to  have  warm  water 
and  clean  cloths  ready  by  the  time  I  get  back. 
Is  there  anyone  here  to  do  it?" 

"There's  a  piece  of  a  girl  out  there  in  the 
kitchen.  She  ain't  much  'count."  The  doctor 
went  to  the  kitchen  door  and  gave  his  orders. 

"I'd  ruther  you'd  let  the  baby's  eyes  alone. 
I'm  afraid  to  have  strong  medicine  put  in  'em." 


228  THE  STORY  OF  A 

For  answer  he  went  out,  got  into  the 
buggy  and  drove  rapidly  back  to  town  where  he 
procured  what  he  needed  and  in  a  few  minutes 
was  back. 

"You'd  better  come  in  this  time,  Mary,  you'll 
get  tired  of  waiting  and  besides  I  want  you  to 
see  this  baby.  I  want  you  to  know  something 
about  what  every  father  and  mother  ought  to 
understand." 

They  went  in  and  the  doctor  took  the  baby  up 
and  seated  himself  by  the  chair  on  which  stood 
a  basin  of  water.  The  mother,  with  very  ungra- 
cious demeanor,  looked  on.  Mary,  shocked  and 
filled  with  pity,  looked  down  into  the  baby's  face. 
The  inflammation  in  the  eyes  was  terrible.  The 
secretion  constantly  exuded  and  hung  in  great 
globules  to  the  tiny  lids.  Never  in  her  life  had 
she  seen  anything  like  it.  "Let  me  hold  it  for 
you,"  she  said,  sitting  down  and  taking  the  baby 
in  her  lap. 

The  doctor  turned  the  little  head  toward  him 
and  held  it  gently  between  his  knees.  He  took 
a  pair  of  goggles  from  his  pocket  and  put  them 
over  his  eyes  to  protect  them  from  the  poison, 
then  tenderly  as  any  mother  could  have  done, 
he  bathed  and  cleansed  the  poor  little  eyes  open- 
ing so  inauspiciously  upon  the  world.  He  thought 
as  he  worked  of  this  terribe  scourge  of  infancy, 
producing  one-third  of  all  the  blindness  in  the 
world.  He  thought  too,  that  almost  all  of  this 
blindness  was  preventable  by  prompt  and  proper 


DOCTOR'S  TELEPHONE  229 

treatment.  Statistics  had  proven  these  two 
things  beyond  all  doubt.  He  thought  of  the 
earnest  physicians  who  had  labored  long  to  have 
some  laws  enacted  in  regard  to  this  stupendous 
evil  but  with  little  result.* 

When  they  were  in  the  buggy  again  Mary  said, 
"But  what  if  the  baby  goes  blind  after  all?  Of 
course  they  would  say  that  you  did  it  with  your 
'strong  medicine.' " 

"Of  course  they  would,  but  that  would  not  dis- 
turb me  in  the  least.  But  it  will  not  go  blind 
now.  I'll  see  to  that." 

Soon  they  had  left  the  town  behind  them  and 
were  fairly  on  their  way.  The  soft,  yet  bracing, 
air  of  the  April  morning  was  delightful.  The 
sun  shone  warm.  Birds  carolled  everywhere. 
The  buds  on  the  oak  trees  were  swelling,  while 
those  on  the  maples  were  bursting  into  red  and 
furzy  bloom.  Far  off  to  the  left  a  tall  sycamore 
held  out  white  arms  in  welcome  to  the  Spring- 
time and  perfect  stillness  lay  upon  the  landscape. 

"I  am  so  glad  the  long  reign  of  winter  and 
bad  roads  is  ended,  John,  so  I  can  get  out  with 
you  again  into  the  blessed  country." 

"And  I  am  glad  to  have  good  company." 

"Thanks  for  that  gallant  little  speech.     Ask 

*  1.     Ophthalmia  Neonatorum 

2.  There  has  been  legislation  for  the  prevention  of  blind- 
ness in  the  States  of  New  York,  Maine,  Rhode  Island  and 
Illinois. 


230  THE  STORY  OF  A 

me  often,  but  I  won't  go  every  time  because  you 
might  get  tired  of  me  and  I'd  be  sure  to  get  tired 
of  you." 

"Thanks  for  that  gracious  little  speech. 


That  evening  when  the  doctor  and  Mary  were 
sitting  alone,  she  said,  "John,  that  baby's  eyes 
have  haunted  me  all  day  long.  And  you  say  one- 
third  of  the  blindness  of  the  world  is  due  to  this 
disease." 

"Yes." 

"That  seems  to  me  a  terrific  accusation  against 
you  doctors.  What  have  you  been  doing  to  pre- 
vent it?" 

"Everything  that  has  been  done  —  not  very 
much,  I'm  afraid.  Speaking  for  myself,  I  can 
say  that  I  have  long  been  deeply  interested.  I 
have  written  several  papers  on  the  subject  —  one 
for  our  State  Medical  Society." 

"So  far  so  good.  But  I'd  like  to  know  more 
about  it." 

"Write  to  the  secretary  of  the  State  Board  of 
Health  for  all  the  information  that  he  can  give 
you." 

The  next  day  Mary  wrote.  Three  days  later 
she  received  the  following  letter: 

SPRINGFIELD,  Nov.  16,  1909. 
My  dear  Mrs.  Blank: 

Several  states  of  the  Union  have  laws  in  re- 
lation to  the  prevention  of  blindness,  some  .good, 


DOCTOR'S  TELEPHONE  231 

some  bad,  and  some  indifferent,  and  I  fear  that 
the  last  applies  to  the  manner  in  which  the  laws 
are  enforced  in  the  majority  of  the  States.  In  the 
December,  1908,  Bulletin  of  this  Board,  a  copy 
of  which  I  send  you  under  separate  cover,  you 
will  find  the  Illinois  law,  which,  as  you  can  read- 
ily see,  is  very  difficult  of  enforcement. 

But,  as  I  said,  much  can  be  done  in  its  en- 
forcement if  the  State  Board  of  Health  can  se- 
cure the  co-operation  of  the  physicians  of  the 
State.  However,  in  this  connection  you  will  note 
that  I  have  made  an  appeal  to  physicians,  on 
page  757.  Yet,  to  the  best  of  my  knowledge,  the 
Board  has  not  received  one  inquiry  in  regard  to 
the  enforcement  of  this  law,  except  from  the 
Committee  on  the  Prevention  of  Ophthalmia  Ne- 
onatorum. 

In  regard  to  the  other  States,  it  will  take  me 
some  time  to  look  up  the  laws,  but  I  will  advise 
you  in  a  few  days. 

Sincerely  yours, 

J.  A.  EGAN. 

After  reading  it  carefully  through,  Mary's 
eye  went  back  to  the  sentence,  "Much  can  be 
done  if  the  State  Board  of  Health  can  secure  the 
co-operation  of  the  physicians  of  the  State." 

She  rose  and  walked  the  floor.  "If  I  were  a 
Voice — a  persuasive  voice,"  she  thought,  "I 
would  fly  to  the  office  of  every  physician  in  our 
great  State  and  then  to  every  physician  in  the 
land  and  would  whisper  in  his  ear,  'It  is  your 
glorious  privilege  to  give  light  to  sightless  eyes. 
It  is  more :  it  is  your  sacred  duty.  O,  be  up  and 
doing !' " 


232  THE  STORY  OF  A 

"To  think,  John,"  she  said,  turning  impetu- 
ously toward  her  husband,  "that  I,  all  these  years 
the  wife  of  a  man  who  knows  this  terrible  truth 
should  just  be  finding  it  out.  Then  think  of  the 
thousands  of  men  and  women  who  know  nothing 
about  it.  How  are  they  to  know?  Who  is  to 
tell  them  ?  Who  is  to  blame  for  the  blindness  in 
the  first  place?  Who  can — " 

Ting-a-ling-ling-ling.  Ting-a-ling-ling-ling. 
Ting-a-ling-ling-ling. 

"Is  this  Dr.  Blank?" 

"Yes." 

"This  is  Mr.  Ardmore.  Can  you  come  up  to 
my  house  right  away?" 

"Right  away." 

When  he  arrived  at  his  destination  he  was  met 
at  the  door  by  a  well-dressed,  handsome  young 
man.  "Just  come  into  this  room  for  a  few  min- 
utes, Doctor.  My  wife  says  they  are  not  quite 
ready  for  you  in  there." 

"Who  is  the  patient?"  asked  the  doctor  as  he 
walked  into  the  room  indicated. 

"The  baby  boy." 

"The  baby  boy!"  exclaimed  the  doctor.  "I 
didn't  know  the  little  rascal  had  got  here." 

"Yes,  you  were  out  of  town.  My  wife  and  I 
thought  that  ended  the  matter  but  he  got  here 
just  the  same." 

"Mighty  glad  to  hear  it.    How  old  is  he?" 

"Just  ten  days." 

"Pretty  fine,  isn't  he?" 


DOCTOR'S  TELEPHONE  233 

"You  bet!  I  wouldn't  take  all  the  farms  in 
these  United  States  for  him." 

"To  be  sure.  To  be  sure,"  laughed  the  doctor. 
He  picked  up  a  little  volume  lying  open  on  the 
table.  "Do  you  like  Omar?"  he  asked,  aimlessly 
turning  the  pages. 

"Very  much.  I  don't  always  get  the  old  Per- 
sian's meaning  exactly.  Take  this  verse,"  he 
reached  for  the  book  and  turning  back  a  few 
pages  read: 

"The  moving  finger  writes;  and  having  writ, 

Moves  on;  nor  all  your  piety  nor  wit 
Shall  lure  it  back  to  cancel  half  a  line, 
Nor  all  your  tears  wash  out  a  word  of  it. 

That  sounds  pretty  but  it  'has  something  in  it 
that  almost  scares  a  fellow  —  he  doesn't  know 
why." 

The  nurse  appeared  in  the  doorway  and  an- 
nounced that  the  doctor  might  come  in  now. 
Both  men  rose  and  went  across  the  hall  into  the 
bedroom.  The  doctor  shook  hands  with  the 
baby's  mother.  "Where  did  you  get  this?"  he 
asked,  laying  his  hand  on  the  downy  little  head. 

"He  came  out  of  the  everywhere  into  the 
here,"  she  quoted,  smiling. 

"Nurse,  turn  the  baby's  face  up  so  the  doctor 
can  see  his  eyes.  They're  greatly  inflamed,  Doc- 
tor," she  said. 

The  doctor  started.  "Bring  a  light  closer,"  he 
said  sharply. 

While  the  light  was  being  brought  he  asked, 


234  THE  STORY  OF  A 

"Did  this  inflammation  begin  when  the  baby  was 
about  three  days  old  ?" 

"He  was  exactly  three  days  old." 

"And  been  growing  worse  ever  since  ?" 

"Yes.  Dr.  Brown  was  with  me  when  he  was 
born.  He  came  in  the  next  day  and  everything 
was  alJ  right.  Then  he  was  called  to  Chicago 
and  I  didn't  know  enough  about  babies  to  know 
that  this  might  be  serious." 

"You  ought  to  have  known,"  said  the  doctor 
sternly,  turning  to  the  nurse. 

"I  am  not  a  professional  nurse.  I  have  never 
seen  anything  like  this  before." 

The  light  was  brought  and  the  nurse  took  the 
baby  in  her  arms.  The  doctor,  bending  over  it, 
lifted  the  swollen  little  lids  and  earnestly  scrut- 
inized the  eyes.  The  cornea  was  entirely  de- 
stroyed! 

"O  God !"  The  words  came  near  escaping 
him.  Sick  at  heart  he  turned  his  face  away  that 
the  mother  might  not  see.  She  must  not  know 
the  awful  truth  until  she  was  stronger.  He  gave 
some  instructions  to  the  nurse,  then  left  the  room 
followed  by  the  baby's  father. 

"Stop  for  a  few  minutes,  Doctor,  if  you  please. 
I'd  like  to  ask  you  something  about  this,"  and 
both  resumed  their  seats,  after  Mr.  Ardmore  had 
closed  the  door. 

"Do  you  think  the  baby's  eyes  have  been  hurt 
by  too  much  light?" 

"No  by  darkness  —  Egyptian  darkness." 


DOCTOR'S  TELEPHONE  235 

The  young  man  looked  at  him  in  wonder. 

"What  is  the  disease?" 

"It  is  Ophthalmia  Neonatorum,  or  infantile 
sore  eyes." 

"What  is  the  nature  of  it?" 

"It  is  always  an  infection." 

"How  can  that  be?  There  has  been  nobody 
at  all  in  the  room  except  Dr.  Brown  and  the 
nurse." 

The  doctor  did  not  speak.  There  came  into  his 
mind  the  image  of  Mary  as  she  had  asked  so 
earnestly,  "How  are  they  to  know?  Who  is  to 
tell  them  ?" 

Leaning  slightly  forward  and  looking  the 
young  man  in  the  face  he  said,  "I  do  not  know 
absolutely,  but  you  know!" 

"Know  what?" 

"Whether  or  not  your  child's  eyes  have  had  a 
chance  to  be  infected  by  certain  germs." 

"What  do  .you  mean,  Doctor?"  asked  the 
young  father  in  vague  alarm. 

Slowly,  deliberately,  and  with  keen  eyes 
searching  the  other's  face  the  doctor  made  reply : 

"I  mean  that  the  sins  of  the  fathers  are  vis- 
ited upon  the  children." 

There  was  bewildered  silence  for  an  instant 
then  a  wave  of  crimson  surged  over  neck,  cheek 
and  brow.  It  was  impossible  to  meet  the  doc- 
tor's eyes.  The  young  man  looked  down  and 
made  no  attempt  to  speak.  By  and  by  he  said  in 
a  low  voice,  "It's  no  use  for  me  to  deny  to  you, 


236  THE  STORY  OF  A 

Doctor,  that  I  have  been  a  fool  and  have  let  my 
base  passions  master  me.  But  if  I  had  dreamed 
of  any  such  result  as  this  they  wouldn't  have 
mastered  me — I  know  that." 

"The  man  that  scorns  these  vile  things  because 
of  the  eternal  wrong  in  them  will  never  have 
any  fearful  results  rising  up  to  confront  him." 

"All  that  has  been  put  behind  me  forever, 
Doctor ;  I  feel  the  truth  and  wisdom  of  what  you 
say.  Just  get  my  boy's  eyes  well  and  he  shall 
never  be  ashamed  of  his  father." 

The  doctor  looked  away  from  the  handsome, 
intelligent  face  so  full  at  that  moment  of  love 
and  tenderness  for  this  new  son  which  had  been 
given  into  his  care  and  keeping,  and  a  wave  of 
pity  surged  over  him.  But  he  must  go  on  to  the 
bitter  end. 

"You  have  not  understood  this  old  Persian's 
verse,"  he  said,  taking  up  the  little  book  again. 
"Tonight  his  meaning  is  to  be  made  plain  to 
you." 

Slowly  he  read: 

"The  Moving  Finger  writes;  and,  having  writ, 

Moves  on;  nor  all  your  Piety  nor  Wit 
Shall  lure  it  back  to  cancel  half  a  Line, 
Nor  all  your  Tears  wash  out  a  Word  of  it. 

He  laid  the  volume  gently  down  and  turning, 
faced  the  younger  man. 

"Listen:  In  those  licentious  days  the  Moving 
Finger  was  writing  a  word  for  the  future  to  re- 


DOCTOR'S  TELEPHONE  237 

veal.    It  wrote  BLIND  in  the  eyes  of  your  help- 
less child." 

"My  God!     You  don't  mean  it!" 
"It  is  true.    The  cornea  is  destroyed." 
A  deathly  pallor  overspread  the  young  man's 
face.    He  bowed  his  head  in  his  hands  and  great 
sobs  shook  his  frame.    "My  God !  My  God !"  he 
gasped  over  and  over  again.    Accustomed  as  the 
doctor  was  to  suffering  and  sorrow  this  man's 
anguish  was  too  much  for  him.    The  tears  rolled 
down  his  cheeks  and  he  made  no  effort  to  re- 
strain them. 

After  a  long  time  the  younger  man  raised 
his  head  and  spoke  in  broken  words,  "Doctor,  I 
must  not  keep  you  here.  You  are  needed  else- 
where. Leave  me  to  Remorse.  I  am  young  and 
you  are  growing  old,  Doctor,  but  will  you  take 
this  word  from  me?  You  and  all  in  your  pro- 
fession should  long  ago  have  told  us  these 
things.  The  world  should  not  lie  in  ignorance  of 
this  tremendous  evil.  If  men  will  not  be  saved 
from  themselves  they  will  save  their  unborn 
children,  if  they  only  know.  God  help  them." 
The  doctor  went  slowly  homeward,  his  mind 
filled  with  the  awful  calamity  in  the  house- 
hold he  had  left.  "It  is  time  the  world  is  wak- 
ing," he  thought.  "We  must  arouse  it." 


Ting  -  a  -  ling  -  ling  -  ling.     Ting  -  a  -  ling  - 
ling  -  ling.    Ting  -  a  -  ling  -  ling  -  ling. 


238  THE  STORY  OF  A 

"Is  this  Mrs.  Blank?" 

It  was  a  manly  voice  vibrating  with  youth  and 
joy. 

"I  want  to  tell  you  that  your  husband  has  just 
left  a  sweet  little  daughter  at  our  house." 

"Oh,  has  he !  I'm  very  glad,  Mr.  Farwell. 
Thank  you  for  telephoning.  Father,  mother  and 
baby  all  doing  well  ?" 

"Fine  as  silk.  I  had  to  tell  somebody  right 
away.  Now  I'm  off  to  send  some  telegrams  to 
the  folks  at  home.  Goodbye." 

Ting  -  a  -  ling  -  ling  -  ling.  Ting  -  a  -  ling  - 
ling  -  ling.  Ting  -  a  -  ling  -  ling  -  ling. 

"This  is  Mrs.  Blank  is  it  not?" 

"Yes." 

"Will  you  please  tell  the  doctor  that  father  is 
dead.  He  died  twenty  minutes  ago." 

"The  doctor  was  expecting  the  message,  Mr. 
Jameson,"  said  Mary  gently.  This,  too,  was  the 
voice  of  a  young  man,  but  quiet,  subdued, 
bringing  tidings  of  death  instead  of  life.  And 
Mary,  going  back  to  her  seat  in  the  twilight, 
thought  of  the  words  of  one — Life  is  a  narrow 
vale  between  the  cold  and  barren  peaks  of  two 
eternities.  The  eternity  before  the  baby  came, 
the  eternity  after  the  old  man  went,  were  sol- 
emnly in  her  thoughts.  But  they  were  not  cold 
and  barren  peaks  to  her.  They  were  crowned 
with  light  and  warmth  and  love. 

And  into  her  thoughts  came,  too,  the  never- 
ending  story  of  the  'phone  as  it  was  unfolding 


DOCTOR'S  TELEPHONE  239 

itself  to  her  throughout  the  years.  Humor  and 
pathos,  folly  and  wisdom,  tragedy  and  comedy, 
pain,  anguish,  love,  joy,  sorrow — all  had  spoken 
and  had  poured  their  brief  story  into  the  listen- 
ing ear  of  the  helper.  And  when  he  was  not 
there,  into  the  ear  of  one  who  must  help  in  her 
own  poor  way. 

O  countless,  countless  messages  stored  in  her 
memory  to  await  his  coming!  Only  she  could 
know  how  faithfully  she  had  guarded  and  deliv- 
ered them.  Only  she  could — 

Ting  -  a  -  ling.  Ting  -  a  -  ling.  Ting  -  a  - 
ling  -  ling  -  ling. 


A    000038111     1 


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